Golden Sun: Last Heaven
by WingGaia
Summary: UPDATE: Episode 05 is up! Saffron tells Garet just how she and Van acquired their mysterious powers to begin with. (VERY long flashback chapter. You've been warned...)
1. Episode 00: A New Beginning

**_Golden Sun: Last Heaven  
_**Episode 00- A New Beginning

A few notes before we start...  
- Italics indicate first-person perspectives.   
- Every chapter has the same first-person narrator, so don't worry about it suddenly changing mid-chapter or something like that.  
- The first couple of chapters were created in a grand total of one and a half hours, so don't be surprised if they're poorly done.  
- One more thing you should know; my fight scenes blow. Don't expect anything great from them.

With that out of the way, let's begin.

_It's been quite some time since we've returned to Vale, but it only feels like yesterday to me. Everything's been going completely by so fast lately, I don't even know if I can keep up with it all._

Then again, ever since this whole crazy adventure started, there's never been a dull day for me and my friends. The wild monsters that we encounter keep us busy enough, but they're not even the tip of the iceberg. Our initial mission was to recover the Elemental Stars and prevent the four Elemental Lighthouses from being lit, but along the way we ended up doing so much more.

If you asked me whether I would do it all again, I wouldn't really know what I would say. Our adventure's been very exciting and fun at times, but it's also had its rough spots that I'm not too fond of reliving. I guess my battle-hardened body doesn't show much wear, even after all that I've endured, but deep inside myself, my callused heart has already been through more than it could take.   
Everyone always calls me the 'leader' and all that. I think it's kind of pointless, everybody contributes something of great value to the team, and we wouldn't be able to function properly if we were missing even one of us. Aside from physical strength or magical prowess, my friends provide me with something that no amount of power can ever give, and that is true happiness.

"Hey, you almost done there, Garet?" Ivan called out from the ground. "Come on, it's almost time for lunch!"  
"Give me a second!" Garet answered as he hammered in another nail into the roof that he was working on. His red hair was now glistening in the sunlight because of his sweat. "I'm almost done, and I want to finish this before I take a break!"  
"Then hurry it up a bit, will you? Everyone else is waiting for you!" Ivan said as he headed back in the direction from which he had come.  
After a few more minutes of hard work, Garet was finally done. "All right! Doesn't look too bad, if I do say so myself…" he thought as he climbed down the ladder and admired his handiwork.  
"Looks pretty good," a familiar voice from behind him said.  
"This is going to be my family's house, it had better be good," Garet replied with a smile. "How about your house, Isaac? Almost done?"  
Isaac nodded. "It won't be long now. Our hometown is almost fully rebuilt," he said with a smile of his own.   
"But first, let's go grab a bite to eat," Garet said as he began to walk in the direction that Ivan went. "We can't work on an empty stomach for too long, right?"   
"Right," Isaac agreed as he followed his best friend to the makeshift town plaza, where the rest of their friends awaited them.

_After returning from the Northern Sea, we had returned to find Vale completely destroyed, along with our homes and our loved ones. However, all was not lost. It turns out the Wise One had guided the people of Vale to safety just before the town had collapsed. Jenna, Felix, Garet, and I were reunited with our families and friends once again, and with that came hopes for a new beginning._

The mayor of Vault has been especially generous to us during this time of need. He set up a temporary shelter for our people, and he offered us the materials that we needed to rebuild our town. Hammet, Ivan's old master, came all the way from Kalay to offer us his help as well. 

"So, that's the plan," Isaac said as he finished explaining the blueprint of Vale's reincarnation. "We've already got all the materials that we need, now we just need to know who's going to be around to help us out."  
"You know that I would never leave you to do something like this alone," Ivan said as he stood up from his seat. "You can count on me, Isaac."  
"That's right," Mia said as she was the next to rise. "We're your friends, and friends stick together."  
"I'll help too!" Sheba said. "I can't go back to Lalivero, not after all I've been through with you guys." _   
_"As will I," Piers said as he finally stood as well. "You've all been so kind to me, and this is the least that I can do to repay you."  
Isaac smiled. "Thanks, you guys. And I mean it." Then he turned to Garet, Jenna, and Felix. "Okay, you know which sections you're in charge of."  
Felix nodded. "This shouldn't be too difficult of a task, especially with all eight of us Adepts working together."  
"Hey, we'll have our cozy little town back in no time!" Jenna said.  
"Okay, then it's settled!" Garet said. "Operation Rebirth begins now! All for one, and one for all!" he exclaimed as he raised his fist into the air.  
"Yeah!" the rest of the group said as their cries echoed through the room.

_With that, we began to rebuild our town from the ground up. It certainly wouldn't be the same as the old Vale, but it would certainly be better than nothing. And besides, we might be able to call it the town that friendship built._

It took us about a month of hard work to complete it, but our town was completed in the end. With the combined efforts of Vale, Vault, and Kalay all working together day in and day out, the construction process certainly didn't take as long as we had originally expected.

The last thing to be built was our own houses. Each person was in charge of building their own family's house, which was fine with everyone since they probably all had a different idea of a dream house. My father and I worked on ours, and Garet and his family worked on his.

However, there was still one more unexpected twist that was to occur…

"What?" Garet exclaimed. "What do you mean you're all staying?"  
"You heard us," Sheba said with a grin. "We're all going to live in the new Vale from now on." With her stood Ivan, Mia, and Piers.  
"But… what about your own homes? Don't you want to go back?" Felix said.  
"What's wrong? Don't you want me with you anymore, Felix?" Sheba said as she began to cry.  
"Uh, wait! Of course I want you to stay! Please don't cry, Sheba!" Felix said, realizing his mistake.  
"Great! Then it's settled!" Sheba said happily as she revealed that she hadn't really been crying at all.  
"Ivan… why don't you go back to Contigo? I'm sure Master Hamma would be really happy to see you again," Garet said.  
Ivan shook his head. "Contigo may have been my birthplace, but my home is here with you guys. You've been my best friends, and like Mia said, friends stick together, right?"  
"How about you, Mia? Don't you want to go back to Imil?" Isaac asked.  
Mia smiled. "Imil is in good hands, Isaac. My apprentices don't need me around anymore…"  
"That's not true," Isaac replied. "You're the best healer that they had, Mia. I'm sure they could always use someone like you around."  
Mia shook her head. "I'm sure my two apprentices have already surpassed my skill. Besides, you guys are like family to me, and this is where I want to call home from now on."  
"Piers… you want to stay with us too?" Jenna said as she turned to him.  
Piers nodded. "In Lemuria, stories of the outside world are only legends. Now that I've seen these legends for myself first-hand, I don't think I can ever go back."  
"Well… I guess that's that then," Isaac said, looking to his childhood friends. "Are you each going to build your own house?"  
"Of course not, silly!" Sheba said. "Mia and I can share one, and Ivan and Piers can have another."  
Garet turned to the others. "Well?"  
"Sounds good," Ivan said.  
"No objections here," Piers added.  
"No problem," Mia finished.  
"Okay then," Felix said. "We're almost finished building the houses themselves, the rest shouldn't be too hard."  
"It won't be long now," Jenna thought to herself. "We'll have our homes back soon."

_After a few more days, our project was finally completed. Vale was finally reborn._

There were non-stop celebrations for almost a whole week afterwards. I don't blame anyone for doing so, it was certainly a happy occasion. You have no idea how warm your own bed feels until you've gone without it for who-knows how long. The others were quite pleased with the new town as well. And they should, seeing how they poured their hearts and souls into the construction of it.

That was almost half a year ago. Now, things have pretty gone back to normal, almost the way they were before. Well, maybe there were a few differences…

Ivan and Felix, ever the curious ones, spend most of their days at Kraden's new house, which was almost the size of the town library now. His shelves were stocked full of books that the residents of Vault and Kalay had given in gratitude to him for his studies. Knowing those two, they're probably investigating the next big mystery after figuring out how to stop the world from ending.

The residents of Vale seem to have welcomed Piers into our society quite nicely. He spends a lot of time helping out around the town, delivering things, running errands, and so forth. He seems to enjoy it, and when I asked him why he just told me that a new adventure is its own reward.

Sheba and Mia have grown quite close, or at least so I've noticed. They seem to have a sisterly bond going on between them, something that I'm kind of envious of. See, I've never had any siblings to play with like Garet, who seems to have too many of them. I wish that I did, maybe I wouldn't be so lonely at times…

Speaking of Garet, he spends a lot of time training again. Even though his strength has increased exponentially since we first left Vale, he believes that he can get even stronger, and he spends most of the day outside in front of a training block. Jenna watches him from time to time, and she even spars with him occasionally. I watch too, but I never actually engage in any of the activities myself. 

It's been quite a while since I've done any fighting. I don't think that I'll ever have to fight again, but I still keep all my weapons and equipment as memories though. The local blacksmith was even kind enough to fix the Gaia Blade for me, even though it was snapped in half during the battle with the Doom Dragon.

Things have certainly calmed down around here. It took a while to switch from the life of a traveling warrior back to the life of a village boy, but it's not so bad now. After all, I've got everything that I could want right here; friends, family, and a place to call home. 

I'm home again. I'm finally home again.

To Be Continued…


	2. Episode 01: Mystery in the Moonlight

**__**

Golden Sun: Last Heaven  
Episode 01- Mystery in the Moonlight

Vale is quite an interesting place. It's everything that Isaac and Garet told me it was, and there's even more on top of that! The residents have been very kind; they seem to be very tolerant of outsiders. This might because they are Adepts as well, and thus they may be able to relate to us a bit better.

The climate of the town is quite suitable for living as well. Not like Imil, where everything is so cold most of the time. Come to think of it, ever since I took up residency here I don't think I've ever had to wear my full set of robes that I wore throughout our great journey. 

You just might say that things here are absolutely perfect. If only it could stay that way for an eternity…

"Come on guys, go chase the ball!" Garet said as he pointed forward, almost like a general leading his army. His 'soldiers' were in fact a group of Mars Djinn, the ones that gave him his strength during battle.  
"That way, that way! Let's go, let's go!" Garet exclaimed as he rushed toward the ball, with the nine red Djinn following close behind.  
Off to the side, Isaac was sleeping on a bed of grass that made up part of a giant field. The grass there was a luscious green, with different-colored plants growing around in every direction. Garet had found this place while exploring one day, and he decided to claim it as his own little park.  
Suddenly, a giant ball of straw crashed into Isaac's head, which woke him up quickly. "Ow… that hurt," he thought as he sat up, looking for the culprit.  
"Sorry about that!" Garet said as he ran over. "Could we have our ball back, please?"  
Isaac looked over at the ground around him. He reached over to pick up the ball that had landed nearby, when suddenly... it moved.  
He was a bit startled at first, but he realized what it was when the ball moved higher off the ground. Carrying the ball was a Venus Djinni, whose size was no bigger than that of the ball's. As Isaac reached over to take the ball, a large group of them clustered around and began to squeal excitedly.  
Garet laughed out loud. "Looks like they want you to play, Isaac," he said.  
Isaac yawned, though he was a bit annoyed with the noise. "I'm a bit tired right now, can't we play later, you guys?" he pleaded.  
The group of beige Djinn picked him up off the ground and began to throw him up and down, as if to tell him that he wouldn't get any rest until he met their demands.  
"Ow… ow! Fine, okay!" Isaac said as he felt his insides lurch. "Put me down, and I'll play!"  
The group of Djinn squealed happily as they put Isaac back on the ground and let him stand up. "Yikes, that was painful. Guess there really is strength in numbers…" Isaac thought to himself as he kicked the ball back towards Garet.  
From an outsider's point of view, the game would have looked pretty strange. A group of red Djinn and a separate group of beige Djinn, all of them running after a single straw ball, which was bouncing every which way now.  
"Hey, watch out! Garet the striker's about to shoot!" Garet said as he bounced the ball along the grass and prepared to kick it. "Here it comes!"  
He kicked the ball as hard as he could, sending it straight at the makeshift goal that Isaac had created with two posts. "Granite, stop that!" Isaac called out.  
One of the Venus Djinn immediately jumped out in front of the ball. Suddenly, a translucent-beige barrier appeared in front of it, causing the ball to bounce right off harmlessly, where it was taken by another Venus Djinni.  
"All right, good job!" Isaac called back. His excitement was short-lived however, as a Mars Djinni suddenly bowled over the ball holder and ran off with it.  
"Give it here, Fever!" Garet called as he waved his left hand in the air.  
The Djinni reared up and gave the ball a sharp head-butt, sending the ball flying through a large crowd of beige and red right towards its intended target.  
"I'm not going to miss twice," Garet said as he noticed Isaac standing in front of the his goal now. "Here it comes!"  
He kicked the ball as hard as he could, aiming directly for the upper corner of the goal. Isaac dived for it, but he missed and came crashing to the ground.  
"Oh yeah! Now that was pretty, wouldn't you agree?" Garet said as he helped Isaac up.  
"That was luck," Isaac retorted as he wiped some dirt off his shirt. "I could have had that if the sun wasn't in my eyes."  
"Dream on. That was a clean goal and you know it," Garet said with a wicked grin.  
"Well, you boys looks like you're having fun," someone said from behind them.  
Isaac and Garet turned to see Mia standing there, holding the straw ball that they had been playing with. They also noticed a group of blue Mercury Djinn sitting on the grass behind her, resting peacefully.  
"Want to play?" Garet offered. "It's fun, you know."  
"No thanks," Mia declined. "I'd rather not work up a sweat at the moment."  
"If it gets too hot for you then maybe you can take off some of your clothes," Garet said jokingly.   
"The reason I came here is to tell you that Piers was looking for you," Mia said, ignoring his comment. "He said it was something important, so I told him that I would relay the message to you as soon as possible."  
"Did he mention what it was about?" Garet said, suddenly all business. "Piers isn't really the kind of person to have big news."  
Mia shrugged. "Don't ask me, I'm just the messenger."  
"Fine, I'll go talk to him," Garet said. "All right guys, fun time's over! Time to re-integrate!"  
The Mars Djinn looked disappointed at having their play time cut short, but they all went back inside Garet's body one by one until they were no longer visible.  
"Here," Garet said as he tossed the ball to Isaac. "You should give your Djinn more workouts. That's how they'll get stronger."  
"Perhaps," Isaac said as he sat back down on the grass. "But different people want different things."  
Garet gave him a funny look. "Just giving you a bit of friendly advice, old buddy. Anyway, catch you later. I'm going to go see what Piers is all excited about."  
"Thanks a lot, friend," Isaac mumbled under his breath as he laid down on the ground and focused on falling asleep again.  
"Isaac…" Mia began as she sat down beside him.  
"What?" Isaac responded, his eyes still shutting out the outside world around him.  
"Is everything all right?" Mia asked, treading cautiously.  
"Sure, why wouldn't they be?" Isaac replied, his tone not all that sincere.  
"It's just that… you've been acting kind of strange lately, especially towards Garet," Mia said. "I'm worried about you, that's all."  
Isaac opened his eyes and sat up, leaning on one knee. "Maybe you should be more concerned about Garet," he said tersely.  
"Huh? I'm not so sure I understand what you mean…" Mia said.  
"Have you noticed how he's been constantly training, day in and day out, ever since we've come back here?" Isaac asked.  
"Yeah… so what about it?" Mia asked.  
"Don't you think it's all a bit unnecessary?" Isaac said, turning to face her.  
"Well, it never hurts to be prepared…" Mia began.  
"Our mission has been completed. We should be resting now and taking it easy instead of preparing for another battle," Isaac replied. "I doubt we're ever going to have to fight again."  
"But you never know what could happen," Mia responded. "Anything's possible. You of all people should know that."  
She was right, of course. After all, there was no way that Isaac could have guessed that his little expedition into Sol Sanctum with Kraden could have led to his great adventure across Weyard.  
"Even if the need to fight does arise…" Isaac started. "You can count me out."  
"But… why?" Mia said, a bit taken aback.  
"I'm through with fighting," Isaac continued. "There's too much at stake during a battle. In one moment, you could lose it all. Or worse yet, you could take somebody you care about down with you…"  
"But we can't operate as a team without you!" Mia replied. "Are you just going to turn your back on us? Your best friends?"  
"You don't need me. Felix is a better leader than I could ever be," Isaac said.  
"Felix wasn't our leader when we defeated Saturos and Menardi atop Venus Lighthouse," Mia said. "You were, Isaac."  
Isaac laid down on the ground again. "Oh, and did you forget to mention which one of us almost got you killed that day?"

__

The final battle with the Fusion Dragon was one to remember, and it was definitely one of the most intense battles that we've faced throughout our journey. If ever there was a time when we had nothing to gain, but everything to lose, that was it…

"What the heck is that thing?" Garet exclaimed as he got into his battle stance.  
"It appears that Saturos and Menardi have fused their bodies into one ultimate beast!" Ivan said from beside him. Though his voice was calm, the sweat running down his forehead was an indication of his fear.  
"Come on, guys! We beat them in their human forms, and we'll beat them in this form too!" Isaac said as he prepared to fight.  
"This isn't going to be easy…" Mia said. "We really need some sort of plan before we attack it."  
The conversation was interrupted as the Fusion Dragon let out a vicious howl that shook the whole lighthouse. It eyed the four Adepts in front of it hungrily, almost like a lion stalking a deer.  
"Split up! It'll have a harder time tracking us if we're separated!" Isaac called out.  
With that, each team member headed off to an opposite corner of the battleground and began running around the Dragon in a wide circle. "Now, let's hit it with everything we've got!" Isaac yelled.  
"Freeze Prism!" Mia cried as she swung the Crystal Rod through the air. Several boulders of ice appeared in the air and zoomed at the Fusion Dragon, smashing into it like an icy meteor shower.  
The Dragon roared in pain, and as it howled its mouth began to spew jets of flame towards seemingly random locations. The four Adepts dodged the bursts themselves, but they quickly found that their mobility was now severely hampered by the spreading flames that had engulfed the battlefield.  
"Come on, now's not the time to let up!" Isaac yelled as he focused his energy into his left palm. "Take this! Quake Sphere!" he cried as he launched a sizzling brown energy ball through the air.  
The Dragon had regained its senses now, however, and the Psynergetic ball dissipated as it came into contact with the Dragon's mystical aura.   
"Hit the dirt!" Ivan cried as the Dragon lunged straight at them with its mouth open.   
Garet and Mia ducked instinctively, but Isaac's reaction time was slower than usual after using so much Psynergy in one blast. The Dragon caught him with one bite and pulled him into the air.   
"Isaac!" Mia cried as she and Garet watched the Fusion Dragon take to the air, with Isaac barely able to hold its mighty jaws open with his trembling arms.   
"Get him! Now, while he's distracted!" Isaac yelled in between grimaces of pain. The Dragon's teeth were cutting through his armor, and he felt his grip on the beast's jaws begin to slip.  
"What do we do?" Garet said, trying desperately to think of a solution. "None of my Fire Psynergy can hit it while it's flying around like that, and I'm fresh out of other ideas!"  
Mia looked around, trying to find something that she could use to aid her cause. Then she realized where she was, and an idea came to her. "That's it!" she said. "Garet, I've got it!"  
Garet looked very confused. "Care to fill me in on your brilliant idea?"  
"Can you fire an Inferno right at it when it flies around the front?" Mia asked.  
"I should be able to hit it from there, if I can stand a little higher up… but what good would it do Isaac?" Garet asked.  
"Trust me on this one, if this doesn't work then Isaac's pretty much dead," Mia said as she stood up on a elevated rock. "Here it comes, get ready!"  
The Fusion Dragon was now chasing Ivan around the now considerably smaller battlefield, and it was coming around to where Garet and Mia were standing. "Now, Garet!" Mia shouted as it zoomed near the center of the lighthouse platform.  
"Here goes!" Garet said as he charged both his hands with his fire Psynergy. "Inferno!" A barrage of fireballs shot out of his outstretched hands and flew around the whole lighthouse, circling around and around in a spiral.  
The Fusion Dragon was forced to slow down as the circle of fire began to tighten around it. It roared in pain again as the fireballs zoomed in and collided with its eyes, sending it flying right over the lighthouse beacon.  
"Isaac! Now's your chance! Get out of there!" Mia cried.  
Isaac was still straining desperately to hold the Dragon's jaws open. But as the Dragon was thrown into the illuminating beam of the Venus Lighthouse, he felt the light of the beacon all around him, its bright aura strengthening his body and refueling his magical energy. "Here goes nothing!" he cried. "Grand Gaia!"  
A bright golden aura surrounded him for a second, and then it expanded into a massive burst of earthen energy. The blast was certainly too hot for the Fusion Dragon to handle, and it was fortunate enough to spit Isaac out before its head would have literally exploded into thousands of pieces.  
The damage that Isaac had done with that attack was substantial, however, and the Dragon was brought to the ground, with smoke running out of the corners of its now closed maw between its gritted teeth.   
"This is it! It ends now!" Isaac cried as he unsheathed the Gaia Blade and charged straight at the Dragon's head. However, he failed to notice that a small parcel of energy was charging within the depths of the Dragon's smoking mouth.  
Mia saw it however, but by then it was too late to stop him. "Isaac! Watch out!" she cried as she came up behind him and tackled him down just as the Dragon launched a purple bolt from between its gritted teeth. The attack zoomed harmlessly over Isaac's head, but it collided with Mia and brought her down hard.  
"Mia!" the remaining three Adepts cried in unison.   
The Fusion Dragon was charging up for another attack, but this time Isaac was ready. "You heartless bastard! You will die for that!" he yelled as he picked up his sword and drove it right into the skull of the Dragon. "Titan Blade attack!" he cried as the tremors from the Gaia Blade's energy burst were now shaking the whole lighthouse.  
Brilliant flashes of light began to burst outward from the Fusion Dragon's bloodied skull, as it howled in mortal pain. Suddenly, there was a massive explosion where Isaac and the Dragon were standing, and everything around the Venus Lighthouse turned completely white... 

__

When I came to, I was back in Lalivero. It turned out that I had been unconscious for two days already. Ivan was at my bedside, changing the bandages that covered my battle-inflicted wounds, and he seemed surprised but happy to see me awake. I asked him where Isaac and Garet were, and I was certainly relieved to find out that they were all right.

Isaac came to see how I was doing after a short time, and the minute he walked into the room he did something that I thought he would never do, or at least not in front of me. He cried. Not just a few tears of relief, he was really letting it all out. He held onto me tight, as if I would disappear from his sight at any given moment. I tried to comfort him, but I guess the battle had taken its toll on him already…

To this day, he still blames himself for what happened that day. Perhaps that is why his fighting spirit has been extinguished now.

Maybe Agatio and Karst were right. Maybe compassion is the warrior's weakness…

"That's how battles are, Isaac. There's no guarantee of anyone's safety out there," Mia said, putting her right hand on his shoulder. "But what matters is that I'm all right now, right?"  
"Did you know how worried I was about you for those two days?" Isaac asked, shaking off her arm. It didn't seem like he was listening to her at all. "I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I could barely even move. And do you know why that is, Mia?" he added, with just a hint of scorn in his voice.  
Mia was about to answer, but instead she shook her head wordlessly.  
"Because if you had died, then your blood would be stained on my hands forever," Isaac said. "I know that battles can be brutal sometimes, but I'm just not prepared to deal with knowing a loved one died because of my stupid mistake."  
"Then why didn't you come back here instead of getting on that ship with the rest of us?" Mia asked. "You could have turned back and gone home, but you didn't."  
Isaac sighed. "Maybe it's time I told you something that I've been keeping a secret from you and everyone else…"  
That came as quite a surprise to Mia. "What secret?" she asked.  
Isaac looked her in the eyes again. "The truth is… you really did die that day."  
Mia's heart almost jumped out of her body. "Wh-what? What are you talking about?" she said, her voice trembling.  
Isaac's gaze turned away from her once again. "The Fusion Dragon's blast hit you harder than we all thought. You developed a severe fever as we were bringing you back to Lalivero, and… well, your body stopped functioning that night."  
"But… if that's true, then how am I standing here right now?" Mia asked.  
Isaac sighed once again. "The draught of Lemuria," he answered.  
Yet another unexpected twist in his words. Just when she thought she was going to get a straight answer, she always ended up even more in the dark. "What does that have to do with anything?" Mia asked, getting more curious with each passing second.  
"It turns out that the draught of Lemuria can do more than just extend a living person's life," Isaac replied. "It can also be used to bring the dead back into the world of the living."  
"Okay… But how did I get some of it? I thought that Babi was the only person to possess any, at least outside of Lemuria," Mia said.  
"Babi's most loyal and trusted aide was Iodem, as you know," Isaac replied. "His trust went so far that he even gave Iodem a small portion of the Lemurian draught to use."  
Isaac's story was beginning to piece itself together. "I see, so go on," Mia said.  
"Iodem was the first to discover that you were deceased, and he was greatly distressed since he was the one who asked us to go up the Venus Lighthouse," Isaac continued. "So in the middle of that night, when nobody else was around, he crept into your room and gave you the draught, which rejuvenated your body and awoke you two days later."  
Mia was awestruck. "Iodem… He gave up Babi's most precious gift to him so I could live…" she trailed off. "But tell me, how do you know all this when it's supposed to be a secret?" she asked Isaac.  
"I was going to check up on you that night, but when I arrived at your room I saw Iodem inside pouring some strange clear-colored liquid inside your mouth," Isaac replied. "Naturally, I barged in and asked what he was doing. So, seeing how he could no longer hide the truth, Iodem explained everything to me and swore me to secrecy."  
He paused and looked towards the sky for a moment. "So you see, that's why I got on that ship with you, Garet, and Ivan. I knew that there was going to be more fighting up ahead, and it just wouldn't be right if I abandoned my friends in the face of such a situation."  
Then, Isaac reached into his robe's inner pocket and pulled out a small pouch. Reaching into the pouch, he produced a small bottle, which was half-filled with a clear liquid substance. "This is what's left of the Lemurian draught that Iodem gave me that night," he said matter-of-factly.  
"He gave all of it to you?" Mia asked, with a look of surprise.  
"Iodem knew that we were going away on a journey across the world, and he thought that we would be able to make better use of it than he would," Isaac said as he put the bottle back in its pouch. "But then we ran into Felix, which made us all a lot stronger than we would have been individually. So there was never any need to use it."  
"Well, what are you going to do with it now?" Mia asked.  
Isaac sat up once again. Taking her hand into his, he placed the brown pouch containing the draught into it. "You keep it. It's yours now," he said.  
"What?" Mia exclaimed. "But I can't take this! Iodem gave it to you, so it should stay with you!" she said, trying to force the pouch back into Isaac's palms.  
However, Isaac held her hand tightly within his, preventing her from moving. "Babi gave this to his closest friend, and now I'm giving it to one of my closest friends," he said. "Go on, take it."  
Mia realized that resisting him was pointless, so she stopped. Holding the brown pouch in her hands, she closed her palms tightly around it. "Isaac… I don't know what to say…" she said, as tears began to form in her blue eyes.  
For the first time in their whole conversation, Isaac smiled. "Just say, 'I'll take good care of it.'"  
Mia reached forward and pulled him into a hug. "I'll take good care of it, Isaac…" she said as her tears ran down her cheeks. "Thank you."  
"Just do me a favor. Don't tell anyone else about this, okay?" Isaac said. "They'll probably ask a bunch of questions that I don't have the answers to."  
Mia nodded as she choked back the last of her tears. "I promise. It'll be our little secret," she said.  
"Okay," Isaac agreed. "Hey, it's starting to get dark, we should head back to town. Come on, I'll walk you home."  
Just then, Mia remembered why she had wanted to talk to Isaac in the first place.. "Hey, Isaac…" she began, but she stopped in mid-sentence.  
"Yeah? What is it?" Isaac said as he turned around.  
There was a long silence. Finally, Mia replied, "Nothing… it's nothing," as she stood up and began to walk with him back to their town.

_The Lemurian draught may have been the one thing that saved my life, but it meant a lot more to me now. It was the first real gift that Isaac had ever given me, and it's something that I'll be sure to cherish forever. _

Isaac keeps a lot of secrets. He doesn't show it to anyone else, but I can tell. There's nothing wrong with that, since everyone has their own hidden treasures buried within their minds, it's just that with Isaac, you never know what to expect.

Mysterious he may be, but Isaac is still one of my best friends, and nothing can ever change that.

And so, Isaac and Mia walked back to New Vale together, talking about whatever came to their minds. As time passed, the sky above went from the shining orange of the sunset to a blanket of darkness that signaled the night. It was going to be a full moon tonight, something that only occurred once every month or so.  
"Well, here we are," Isaac said as the two of them arrived at Mia's house. "You'd better go inside, Sheba will be wondering where you've been," he added with a chuckle.  
"No doubt," Mia said with a laugh. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" she said as she walked up the steps that led to the front door.  
Isaac nodded. "Good night, Mia."  
Mia smiled at him. "Good night, Isaac," she said as she walked into her house, closing the door behind her.  
Isaac turned and began to walk in another direction. "Guess I'd better go home as well. Mom and Dad will be curious as to why I'm so late."  
"Where are you going?" a voice said from somewhere around him.  
Isaac stopped. "I'm going home," he replied tersely, without turning around. "It's getting late, shouldn't you be doing the same?"  
"Some of us don't have homes that we can go back to," the voice said, from a much closer distance this time.  
Isaac turned around in surprise. "What the… how did you…?"  
The voice that was behind him emerged from the shadow that it had been hiding in. "Surprised? Or did I just catch you off guard?" the voice's owner said. It was a teenage boy, about the same size as Isaac and appearing to be about the same age as well. He wore a long cloak that covered most of his body to Isaac, but he could see the boy's fiery eyes glowing in the darkness.  
"Who… who are you?" Isaac said, showing just a hint of fear. "And what do you want with me?"  
"You'll find the answers to those questions soon enough," the mysterious boy said as he turned around and began to walk away. "Just know that we will meet again in the near future, Isaac of Vale."  
Isaac's eyes went wide. "How do you know my name?" he called out to the stranger.  
No answer came. As quickly as he had come, the boy was gone.  
"Who was that guy?" Isaac thought to himself as he stood transfixed, staring at the shadow that the stranger had disappeared into.

To Be Continued… 


	3. Episode 02: Discovery

**_Golden Sun: Last Heaven  
_**Episode 02- Discovery

(Author's Note: Long and probably boring chapter ahead. However, it's necessary if I want to avoid explaining everything later. Enjoy! ^_^)

_If there's one thing that's changed around here since we've come back to Vale, it's definitely the fact that there's never a dull day around here anymore. The friends that we've brought with us provide enough excitement to last a lifetime, and then some…_

Of course, Piers just may be the exception to that whole 'excitement' thing. Ever since he started living here, it's been nothing but work, work, and more work for him. While the rest of us spend our days horsing around or doing whatever it is we like to do, Piers is running around the town, delivering groceries to an elderly resident.

It makes me feel kind of guilty, just sitting around or playing games when he's hard at work and all. My family is certainly impressed with him, and now they're always asking why I can't be as helpful as he is. You might say that I'm even just a tad jealous of his unbreakable work ethic.

But if you look at it from his perspective, you certainly can't blame the guy for wanting to do new things. After all, he's been locked up in his small little village for probably over a hundred years! If I had been living in Lemuria, I probably would have thrown myself into the ocean by now just to get away from it all.

However, Piers is certainly not the guy you want to talk to if you're looking for groundbreaking discoveries. While it's true that he works day in and day out and thus gets to see pretty much everything that goes on around the town, what's new to him is what Isaac, Felix, Jenna and I grew up with. Anytime you ask him what new things he's found that day, he'll probably just show you the town's prized chicken or something along those lines.

After a while, I guess he got the idea that we weren't too dazzled with his findings anymore, and he's been keeping them to himself. Which makes it all the more puzzling as to why he called me to see him today…

"Man, you'd think that Mia could have at least told me where he was," Garet thought to himself as he looked around the town square. "It's almost impossible to find him if I don't know where he is!"  
Suddenly, he spotted a familiar face among the throngs of people. "Jenna! Hey, wait up!" he cried as he ran to catch up with her.  
Jenna turned around. "Oh hey, Garet," she said with a smile. "What's up?"  
"Have you seen Piers around?" Garet asked. "He wanted to see me about something, but I don't know where he is right now."  
Jenna thought for a moment. "Hmm, the last time I saw him he was at old man Mueller's house," she said. "That was about a half hour ago though, so he might be halfway across the village by now."  
"Okay, thanks for the lead, Jenna," Garet said as he took off in another direction. "See you later!"  
"Uh, okay… see you," Jenna said as she watched him go. "Wow, why in the world would Piers want to talk with Garet, of all people?" she thought to herself.

_Following the lead that I got from Jenna, I ended up at old man Mueller's house. He's the town historian, and also one of the oldest living residents of Vale. He's always fascinated by new things, like Kraden. He almost never leaves his work for anything, not even for food, so Piers helps him out most of the time by going to the market to buy groceries for him._

When Garet arrived at old man Mueller's house, he saw that the door was open. "What's up? He never leaves his door open, probably afraid that the sunlight would destroy some of his precious artifacts," Garet thought to himself.  
As he approached the door, he heard some voices coming from inside. One of them was the voice of old man Mueller, and the other belonged to Piers.  
"Indeed, this is a miraculous discovery, m'lad!" Mueller said with enthusiasm. "It is certainly a big step in proving that there are other civilizations scattered throughout Weyard that we have not yet found!"  
"Um, hello?" Garet said as he knocked on the open door lightly.  
"Ah, Garet! You came!" Piers said as he turned around.  
"Yeah, Mia gave me your message. So what did you want to speak to me about?" Garet said as he walked into the house.  
"Take a look at this tablet that I found," Piers said, pointing to the rectangular piece of stone that was on Mueller's round table.  
Garet looked at the tablet. "Hmm, this kind of looks like a summon tablet," he said.  
"That's what I thought as well, but according to mister Mueller it could be something much greater!" Piers said, barely able to conceal his excitement.  
"Indeed it could," Mueller agreed. "Why don't you pull up a chair, Garet? I'll explain the whole thing again for you."  
Garet found a stool nearby, so he pulled it over and sat down beside Piers. "Go ahead, I'm all ears," he said.  
"Do you see these markings on the tablet?" Mueller said, pointing to a few strange patterns that were carved into the stone. The patterns were a bit faded from years of wear, but they were extremely large, covering almost all of the tablet.  
Garet looked. "Weird… they kind of look like monsters," he observed. "But what's that engraved beside it?" he said, pointing to another picture that was near the ones that Mueller had pointed to.  
"Is that not obvious to you? After all, you are one yourself," Mueller replied with a chuckle.  
Garet didn't really understand what he had meant by that, but he took another look anyway. "Hey, it looks kind of like an Adept!" he said after a while.  
Mueller nodded. "Here you can see the illustration of a person surrounded by the elements of earth, fire, wind, and water. And beside that picture, we see another that depicts the wild beasts of Weyard."  
"So… what does it all mean?" Garet asked. "The two don't really seem to fit together."  
"There appears to be one more picture over here that we have not observed yet," Piers said, pointing to a corner of the tablet that was covered by a shadow.  
"Oops, sorry. Looks like I'm in the way," Garet said, standing up and moving to the side. "Let's take a look at it."  
As the three gazed at the newly uncovered picture, it began to look more and more like the others that they had already seen. Only this one looked different in its way…  
"The best I can say is that it looks like a combination of the other two," Garet mused after a long silence.  
"I completely agree," Piers concurred. "You can see the person in the second picture, only this time he's surrounded by the beasts that we saw in the first picture."  
"And if I'm not mistaken, the person depicted in this picture bears some resemblance to the monsters around him as well," Mueller added. "Perhaps a beast-human of some sort…?"  
"This is all quite mysterious," Piers said as he assumed a thinking pose. "Maybe Kraden could be of some assistance right now."  
"Hmm, you're right there," Garet agreed. "If there's anyone who can solve this mystery, it's that old coot."  
"You forget, friend, that I am far older than Kraden will ever be," Piers said with a funny look.  
"Oops, sorry about that, Piers," Garet said, realizing his mistake. "Of course, you're just as young and spry as the rest of us, so you're different in a lot of ways."  
"In Lemuria, Kraden would be considered to have much wisdom for someone of his age," Piers added. "Perhaps we should pay him a visit and see if he can help us figure some of this out."  
Garet nodded. "Mister Mueller, would you mind if we borrowed the tablet for a while? We're just going to bring it to Kraden so he can take a look at it."  
"Please, be my guest," Mueller said courteously. "If there's anybody that can help us decipher this ancient tablet, it's Kraden. I'll just be happy to have contributed something to this whole discovery."  
"Okay, thank you very much. Come on, Piers, help me lift this thing," Garet said as he picked up the front half of the tablet.   
"Right!" Piers said as he lifted the back half. "To Kraden's we go!"

_I never thought that I would ever be so excited about a bit of scientific mumbo-jumbo, but there was definitely something about that tablet that I just had to figure out. Piers was the one who had discovered it, but he didn't seem as excited as my about this whole thing._

I don't know why I'm so eager. It's just something that I know in my heart I have to do.

"Say, Piers, how did you find this thing anyway?" Garet grunted as the two of them walked along still carrying the large tablet.  
"I was delivering groceries to old man Mueller today, and I just saw it lying in a thick of bushes," Piers replied. "After I dropped off the supplies at his place, I went back to collect it."  
"How did you notice one rock in a big bunch of bushes?" Garet asked. "Sure, it's got some funny markings on it, but you would still have a hard time seeing it."  
"That's the funny thing," Piers answered. "I didn't just spot it in the bushes. When I first saw it, the tablet was glowing."  
That was certainly quite surprising. "You're joking, right? This thing was glowing?" Garet said.  
Piers nodded. "Not only that, I felt a strange energy resonating from it as well. Almost as if it were Psynergy…"  
"Okay, now you're starting to freak me out. This chunk of rock was glowing when you saw it, and it gives off Psynergy?" Garet said.  
Piers nodded again. "It's hard to believe, but it's all true."  
"Then why isn't it glowing or giving off Psynergy right now?" Garet asked.  
This time, Piers shrugged his shoulders. "It stopped glowing the moment I picked it up, and it also stopped giving off Psynergetic energy. That's why I brought it back to old man Mueller to have it examined."  
"Did you really think that there would be a summon tablet buried under our little town?" Garet asked. "Come on, Piers, what were you thinking?"  
Just then, the two were interrupted by another presence. "Hey! Garet, Piers!" a voice called out.  
The two of them turned around to see Jenna running towards them. "Hey, Jenna, what's up?" Garet said as he put down the tablet to rest his tired arms.  
"I'm looking for my brother," Jenna replied. "I can never seem to find him anywhere these days…"  
"He's probably down at Kraden's with Ivan," Piers said. "Those two seem really interested in the studies of Alchemy and the world."  
Jenna sighed. "You two wouldn't happen to be going that way, would you?" she asked.  
"As a matter of fact, we are," Garet said. "We've got to get this thing checked out," he said, pointing to the tablet.  
"Whoa, what is that thing?" Jenna asked, looking down at the two boys' cargo.  
"We don't know. That's why we're going to get it checked out," Garet said, rolling his eyes as he did so.  
Jenna glared at him. "Oh well, could you tell my brother to be home by dinner when you get there, Piers?" she said, turning away from Garet.  
"Sure, I guess," Piers said. "I'll take your message to him."  
"Okay, thanks a lot," Jenna said with a smile. "At least you're a lot more reliable than some other people around here," she said as her eyes flashed towards Garet.  
Piers laughed. "I think Garet's just as reliable as a well-trained dog," he said.  
Jenna rolled her eyes. "Maybe, now if only he would stop acting like one…"   
The two shared a laugh over that. "Hey, you guys! I'm still right here!" Garet said from the side, not too happy about the direction of their conversation.  
"Well, I guess I'd better be going," Jenna said. "Thanks again, Piers!" she said as she ran back the way she had come.  
"Bye!" Piers said with a wave.  
"Gee, where's my thanks?" Garet thought to himself as he picked up the tablet again. "Come on, Piers, we're hauling out. At least then I can get further away from her…"  
"Really, you two fight like a married couple," Piers said with a laugh.  
"That's not funny, man," Garet said as he took a playful swing at Piers.

_Jenna and I might have grown up together along with Felix and Isaac, but that didn't necessarily mean that we were the best of friends. In fact, we disagreed about practically everything that we could argue about; everything from food to hairstyles was fair game for us. It's not that we hated each other, it's just that we didn't really get along that well. We've kind of fixed things up now, but we still argue from time to time, if only for old time's sake._

And another thing, Jenna may be pretty and easy on the eyes to some extent, but it's no mystery that she wants to be with Isaac. That's really no surprise, seeing how he acted infinitely nicer and friendlier to her than I ever did. If there's one person that can cool her flames of anger, that person would be Isaac.

Perhaps… if I had tried to be just a bit kinder to her before, things might be different between us now. But even if I tried to negotiate a cease-fire with her, we would just forget about it when the next argument came along.

"Here we are," Piers said as the two boys arrived at Kraden's new cottage. It wasn't really a cottage anymore, since it had been rebuilt in the size of a house. Most of it was still used to hold books, however. The outside had also been nicely decorated, with its flowery gardens and exotic trees in the near vicinity. Of course, Kraden had needed some help to set it all up, but it all paid off in the end.  
"And not a moment too soon," Garet said as he put down the tablet that they had been carrying for almost an hour. "Man, that thing is heavier than it looks."  
Piers went to go knock on the front door. "Hello? Is anybody in there?"  
The door opened a short while later, and Felix was the person behind it. "Hey there, what brings you two here?" he said, his brown eyes gazing with surprise at the giant rock behind Piers.  
"This," Garet said as he dragged the tablet up the porch steps. "We think it might be a historical artifact, but we need Kraden to check it out."  
"I see. Well, come on in," Felix said as he went back inside.   
Piers came back and helped Garet bring the tablet into the house. "Now you know why I called for you specifically," he said with a grin.  
"Huh? I don't get it," Garet said.  
"I had a feeling that we would have to do something like this with the stone, so I asked myself who was the strongest friend that I knew," Piers said. "Naturally, you were the correct choice for the job."  
"Thanks for the compliment, but my arms are killing me," Garet said as he entered the building with his arms hanging limp at his side. "Do warn me the day before if you're planning something like this again."  
Piers smiled. "All right. You will have twenty-four hours notice the next time I decide to move a mysterious tablet of stone across town."

_If he was being sarcastic, he was doing a fine job of hiding it._

The interior of Kraden's house was certainly a sight to behold. There was only one wall that was clearly visible; the others had been covered by bookshelves that were almost completely filled with books. It was certainly a scholar's paradise, and you just might say that Kraden's little home was the largest collection of information in all of Weyard, though you never would have guessed it from the outside.  
Ivan was sitting at a table, his thoughts deeply immersed into a book that he was reading. That was pretty much how he spent his days now, on a vendetta of knowledge. He didn't even notice his friends' arrival until Garet sneaked up behind and grabbed his shoulders abruptly.  
"Yikes!" he exclaimed as he almost sprung out of his seat. "Garet, don't scare me like that!"  
"What are you reading there?" Garet said with a chuckle. "You seem to be quite interested in it."  
"This? Oh, it's nothing really. Just an old book about how to forge weapons," Ivan replied as he opened the book again.  
"Sounds cool," Garet said, not really that sincere. He would much rather go and forge the weapon himself rather than sitting around reading about how to do it. That's just the kind of person that he was, more hands-on. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Kraden is, would you?" he added.  
Ivan thought about it for a second. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him for about an hour now. He went into his room looking at something and he hasn't come out since."  
Piers was already at the door to Kraden's door. "Hello? Kraden, are you in there?" he said as he knocked on the door.  
"I doubt he'll hear you," Felix said from beside him. "If he goes in there and the door's closed then it means that he's doing something important."  
Just then, the door opened to greet the two friends. "Why, hello Piers! What are you doing here at this time of the day? Don't you have errands to run?" the aged face of Kraden said.  
Piers shook his head. "Not today, the townsfolk are all resting today," he said. "The festival is only a week away, you know."  
"Ah, that's right!" Kraden said, suddenly reminded. "I really must be getting those lighting ideas to the mayor soon then…" he added.   
"Anyway, we were wondering whether you could take a look at a mysterious artifact that I found earlier," Piers said.   
Kraden's eyes lit up like a child with a new toy. "The two things I adore, mysteries and artifacts! Of course I'll look at it! So where is it?" he said, looking eagerly around the house as if searching for a present.  
"Over there, on the table," Piers said, pointing to the tablet that Garet had placed on the reading table. "Where Garet and Ivan are."  
"Oh, Garet's here as well, is he?" Kraden said as he descended the staircase that led up to his room.   
"He was the one who helped me carry it here," Piers said.  
"Why didn't you call me? I could have given you a hand as well," Felix piped in from the side.  
Piers cracked a smile. "You seem to be busy here, so I didn't want to disturb you."  
Felix shrugged his shoulders. "Not today, all I've done is sharpen my sword," he said, motioning towards a table at the opposite side of the house. On that table was the Sol Blade, glimmering brightly as if it had just been forged.  
"So, let's see it already," Kraden said as he walked over to the tablet, his pace quickening with each step.  
"Hey, Kraden," Garet said as he greeted his old friend.  
"Hello, Garet," Kraden replied. "No babysitting today?"  
Garet shook his head. "Dad's got a few days off before the festival, so I get the whole day to myself for that time."  
"I see," Kraden said. "Well then, let's see what we have here," he added as he sat down in a nearby chair and grabbed a nearby magnifying glass.  
"Here's what we've got so far," Piers said as he and Felix sat down around the table as well. "These patterns appear to depict an image of some sort. Here we have a picture of an Adept, with the four elements of Alchemy around him. And over here, we have a picture of a variety of wild creatures," he said as he pointed out his earlier observations.  
Kraden nodded. "It seems that you are correct there, Piers," he said. "But these aren't your ordinary wild monsters. The creatures depicted here seem to be a special breed, of which I can't quite remember the name of at the moment."  
He promptly stood up and walked over to one of the many bookcases that streamed along the walls of his house. After searching for a while, he pulled out a book, which was aged and dusty, but still in fairly good condition. Kraden put the book down on the table and began to flip through it, and after a while he found what he was looking for.  
"Ah! Here it is, just as I had guessed!" he said, pointing to the page of that he had stopped on.  
Everybody leaned in to take a look. On the page was a collection of pictures, which depicted monsters as well. After closer examination, it became obvious that those monsters were definitely the same as those found on the tablet.  
"They're the same!" Ivan said. "But we still don't know what they are…"  
"These are the legendary beasts of Antiga," Kraden said matter-of-factly. "They are merely myths within our civilization today, a legend passed down between scholars."  
"So… what's the story behind these things?" Garet asked.  
Kraden assumed a thoughtful position, sort of like a father telling his children a story. "The legend of Antiga tells of an ancient civilization, one of which holds even more mysteries than that of Lemuria."  
The three Adepts had only heard one sentence, but the combination of a mystery and Kraden's storytelling abilities had already drawn them in. "So don't keep us in suspense, go on," Piers said eagerly.  
"The people of Antiga did not rely on the power of human nor Alchemy," Kraden continued. "Instead, they used the powers of the beasts around them to maintain their lifestyle. This seems very strange to us right now, since it's hard to imagine us working with the monsters that we find in the wild today," he added with a chuckle.  
"Anyway, the legend goes on to say that as the beasts continued to develop under the care of the Antigans, they developed mystical powers of their own, not unlike the Psynergy that we use. Unlike us, however, the magic that they used had a mind of its own. These six beasts are merely an example of the many found in Antiga."  
"What do you mean by that?" Ivan asked.  
"Supposedly, the Antigan people had to bond with the beast's spirit to unleash its full potential, not unlike what you do with your Djinn," Kraden answered.  
"So, if they were that powerful and all, what happened to them?" Felix asked.  
"Excellent question, I was just getting to that," Kraden said. "The legend says that when the power of Alchemy was sealed away, the beasts of Antiga lost their powers and gradually died away. Without the powers of their tamed beasts to assist them, the Antigans died away as well. All that remains of them is this legend."  
"It sounds real enough to me. Why is it just a legend?" Garet asked.  
"No hard scientific evidence has been found that Antiga has ever existed," Kraden answered. "All we have are artifacts like these to work with, and that's how the legend was created."   
Kraden pointed to the tablet. "You'll notice that there are three creatures on this tablet. Now compare them with the ones in the book."  
"Hmm, but the book's picture has six creatures in it," Piers said.  
"My theory is that there is another tablet exactly like the one that you have unearthed hidden somewhere. If my theory proves correct, that tablet will depict the other three beasts," Kraden said as he nodded periodically.  
"But we still don't know what this picture means," Garet said, pointing to the lone picture on the corner of the tablet.  
Kraden took out his magnifying glass. "Well then, let's take a look, shall we?" he said as he examined the pattern in question. After a while, he burst out laughing.  
This came as quite a surprise to the others. "What's so funny?" Felix asked.  
"This is not a picture at all, Garet!" Kraden said. "If you look closely, it is actually an inscription that has been carved into the stone. The way that it was carved creates the illusion that it actually is a drawing of some sort."  
"What?" Garet exclaimed. "Here, let me take a look," he said as he took the magnifying glass from Kraden and began to examine the corner.   
It turned out that Kraden had been right after all. There were runes written in every which direction, so small and microscopic that the naked eye wouldn't have noticed it at all. "Whoa, you're right…" Garet said as his eyes widened. "But how are we supposed to read it?"  
"Elementary, my boy," Kraden said as he took back the magnifying glass. "If you look to the side, you'll notice that some arrows have also been carved in. I think that if we follow those, we'll be able to decipher the message inscribed on this tablet."  
"Can you read it now?" Piers said, barely able to contain his excitement.  
"Not offhand, but given a bit of time I can," Kraden said. "With all these resources at my disposal, there isn't a single language in all of Weyard that I won't be able to read," he added proudly.  
"Hmm, then I guess we should leave the tablet here, then?" Garet asked.  
Kraden nodded. "There's no use in hauling it away only to bring it back later. Besides, I've got plenty of room here."  
Garet breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness I don't have to move it back," he thought. "It'll be days before my arms can feel normal again."  
"Hey, you guys, it's getting dark," Ivan observed as he looked outside the window. With all the excitement of trying to figure out the mysterious tablet's meaning, the group had lost track of time in the process. "You think we should be going soon?" he asked Piers.  
Piers nodded. "It will be a bit more difficult to head home if it gets too dark, so we should leave before that happens."  
"Oh, damn!" Garet said as he slapped his forehead. "I forgot to tell you that Jenna wants you home by dinner," he said, turning to Felix with a sheepish look on his face.  
"Hmm, if I go now I should be able to make it before then," Felix said thoughtfully. "I guess I'll be leaving then," he said as he picked up the Sol Blade off the other table. "Goodbye!"  
"Hey wait, I'll come with you! My place is on the way," Garet said as he ran to the door as well. "See you later, guys!" he called as he closed the door behind him.

_There was a time when I would have made no such offer to Felix. After all, he was once an ally of Saturos and Menardi. However, ever since our run-in at Jupiter Lighthouse, he doesn't really seem like such a bad guy. It was him that stepped in just as Agatio was about to deliver a final blow to Isaac, and it was him that eventually defeated both Agatio and Karst at the top of the lighthouse._

I guess it was then that we all realized that Felix was fighting with us, and not against us. It was just as well, we really wouldn't have been able to climb the Mars Lighthouse and defeat the Doom Dragon without his help.

"So, how have you been lately, Garet?" Felix asked as the two friends walked along the road back to town. The sun was setting, and there was no one else around except for them, as most families were already in their own homes preparing the night meal.  
Garet shrugged. "All right, I guess. Watching siblings sometimes, training some other times, you know how it is."  
Felix laughed. "Well, not really. Jenna's big enough to take care of herself, so I'm free to do as I wish most of the time."  
"So you spend all your time at Kraden's?" Garet asked with a stifled snicker.  
Felix nodded. "He really has quite a bit of things stored in that house of his. Not to mention a lot of fascinating books and artifacts."  
Now it was Garet's turn to laugh. "You know, you're starting to become just like Ivan. Always reading and trying to become smarter."  
"Perhaps. But it's a better use of time than simply sitting around doing nothing," Felix replied.  
Suddenly, Garet heard a noise from behind them that sounded like footsteps. He turned around to see what it was, but there was nothing except the traces of his steps.  
"What is it?" Felix asked.  
"Thought I heard something…" Garet said. "Oh well, maybe I'm just a bit tired."  
Then he heard it again. He spun around quickly, and yet there was still nothing. "Okay, I definitely heard something this time," he said. "Come out! I know you're there!" he yelled.  
Nobody answered. "Perhaps it would be wise to quicken our pace a bit," Felix said cautiously.   
Garet was still scanning the area, his eyes darting back and forth quickly. "Yeah," he said finally. "Let's go."  
Just then, a brilliant light erupted from a patch of trees in front of them. The two had barely any time to react as a golden beam came out of the woods and homed in on their position.  
"Down!" Garet yelled as he and Felix both dove to the ground instinctively. If not for their vigorous combat training, they would never have been able to dodge it. The beam zoomed right over their heads and dissipated behind them, its power drained.  
The two boys jumped back on their feet and prepared for battle. Felix unsheathed the Sol Blade, and Garet assumed a battle stance. "Okay, where are you…?" Garet said as the two stayed motionless, not moving an inch.  
Garet caught a flash of movement on his right side, but his discovery was short-lived when someone or something suddenly slammed into his left side with the force of a bull, sending him flying through the air.  
"Garet!" Felix cried as he spun around. Just then, another figure leaped out from the trees and charged at him. Felix turned back around just in time to block a knife thrust with his sword.  
Garet was pretty shaken up as he slowly returned to his feet, but his senses seemed to be in one piece. "Where is he? Where is he hiding?" he said, his frustration clearly showing.  
"Right here," a voice said. A robed figure materialized right in front of Garet, holding a rod in its right hand which was right at the side of his throat. It was wearing a hood that concealed its head. "Don't move, and nobody gets hurt."  
Garet was clearly surprised, but he wasn't shaken quite yet. "And what if I do?" he said, as he began channeling Psynergy through his body down to his hands. "Liquifier!" he cried as he thrust his palms forward straight at his assailant, firing several orange beams from them.  
The impact was almost instantaneous, as his attack had been at a point-blank range. "How do you like that?" he said as his breathing became heavy. A thick cloud of smoke had blanketed the area around him, and sparks of red energy were visible on the ground.  
"How unimpressive," the same voice said, from behind him this time. "Your combat skills are obviously in need of refinement."  
"What the…?" Garet began as he turned around. He was cut off as the mystery assailant dealt a swift blow to the side of his neck. He fell to the ground, completely unconscious.  
"Maybe you shouldn't be so cocky next time, little boy," the figure said as it caught his body and laid down on the ground. "And don't always be so sure that it's a 'he'."  
On the other side of the path, Felix was still engaged in a clash of blades with another robed enemy. Though his adversary's blade mastery was impressive, it appeared that he had the upper hand.  
"You picked a fight with the wrong guy," Felix said. "Now it's time to take you down. Megiddo!"   
He charged straight forward at his opponent as the Sol Blade began to glow furiously. He swung it in a circle above his head and then he swung it downwards with all his might, unleashing the sword's full power.  
"Not so fast," the robed figure said. "Chain of Vengeance!" he cried as he launched a rope of black energy at Felix. The makeshift chain surrounded him and tied him up, completely stopping his attack.  
"What…?" Felix grunted as he felt the energy chain tightening around his body. "How did you…?"  
"Now who's laughing?" the figure said with an evil chuckle. He walked up to Felix's disabled body and held up his palm, revealing a ball of black energy. "Watch carefully, I'm only going to do this once," he said. The mysterious figure shot the ball right at Felix, detonating the sphere point-blank.  
Felix collapsed to the ground, his body having taken all the punishment that it could handle. "You…" he said weakly. "What do you want with us?"  
The robed figure sneered at him. "Let's just say that we're on our way to pick up something that belongs to us."   
Felix's eyes went wide as he tried desperately to move his damaged body. "The tablet… you're after the tablet!"  
The figure smiled as he walked over to where Felix lay. "This sword is too good for the likes of you," the figure said as he picked up the Sol Blade. "How you got your hands on something this nice is a mystery to me.  
"No… give that back…" Felix said as he tried to get back up. It was no use, however. His body was spent, and the ground beneath him was stained with his blood.  
The figure dropped the sword back to the ground. "Pathetic weakling," he said, casting a final look at Felix. "I guess you'll need all the help that you can get."  
The other hooded figure who had dealt with Garet came up beside him. "Come on, we should go now."  
The first figure nodded. "Until we meet again, weakling," he said as the two of them walked away, fading into the darkness.  
"You… Come back…" Felix said. That sapped away what remained of his strength, however. He collapsed to the ground, as his vision went black.  
To Be Continued… 


	4. Episode 03: Danger in the Darkness

**_Golden Sun: Last Heaven  
_**Episode 03- Danger in the Darkness

It's certainly good to be home. For one thing, I never have to sleep on those rough inn beds that feel more like a bed of nails. Not to mention the food at home is infinitely better than what you would find in other towns. (Unless my brother's the one doing the cooking, then it's the other way around. Even if the town itself has changed, home is still home.

The only downside of coming home is that the excitement of traveling all around the world is all but gone. No longer can we meet new and interesting people or see different things, as we had so many times during our grand adventure. Oh well, I guess you can't always have everything that you want at once…

But then again, all the people that I care about are here. My family, my friends, even those acquaintances that I probably see once a week. Seeing the world is fun and all, but I guess living in your hometown can be just as nice.

Still, there's always a small part of me that wants to get away from it all…

"Where is your brother? It really is getting a bit late," Kara said as she looked outside of the window. "It's not like him to be so tardy, especially for dinner."  
"I think he got my message," Jenna replied to her mother. "Piers is reliable enough when doing that sort of thing."  
"You don't think something could have happened to him, do you?" Abraham said as he stood up. "Perhaps I should go and look for him."  
Jenna rose from her seat. "No need for that, Dad. I'll go find him," she said as she grabbed a cloak and ran out the door.  
"Oh, Jenna! Be careful!" Kara called after her. "I really hope that Felix is all right," she added, turning to her husband.  
"He'll be fine," he replied in a confident tone. "He's big enough to look out for himself now. I'm sure he's on his way back right now."  
_What's taking Felix? Piers said that he was down at Kraden's, and that's not very far away from here. Besides, he goes there practically every day, so there's no way he would have trouble finding his way home from there._

Something doesn't feel right. I can't explain it, but I just know it.

"It's almost pitch-black here," Jenna said as she walked down the path that led to Kraden's house. "I can't even see in front of me now."  
Suddenly, a red light zoomed out of her body and assumed the form of a Mars Djinni. The Djinni jumped up and down for a few moments, and suddenly a bright circular aura surrounded it, lighting up the whole area around its friend.  
"Awesome! Thanks a lot, Shine," Jenna said with a smile. "Now, let's go look for my brother."  
The Djinni nodded and began to follow Jenna as she walked, creating an ample light source for her so she wouldn't get lost. After a few more minutes of walking, she found an open area that with a few logs scattered around. Trees weren't as thick in this area, so she sat down and stared off into the night sky.  
"I don't get it, where is he?" Jenna wondered out loud as she watched the stars twinkling up above. "It's almost like he disappeared into thin air…"  
Just then, Shine began to tug at her robe with its tiny paws, trying to get her attention. "Huh? What's the matter, Shine?" she asked.  
The Djinni pointed towards the ground in another direction. "What is it? I don't see anything there," Jenna said, standing up.  
Shine moved forward a bit, and its light revealed a body on the path. Jenna was greatly surprised at first, but her surprise turned to horror when she realized who it was. "Oh goodness, Felix!" she cried as she ran over to her fallen brother's vessel.  
"Felix! Felix, wake up!" Jenna cried frantically as she propped his head onto her legs. There were cuts and bruises all over him, and his limbs lay weak at his side. "Felix, you've got to wake up! You've just got to…" she said as tears began welling up in her brown eyes.  
"Je…Jenna…" Felix said weakly as he began to stir.  
"Felix!" Jenna cried, a wave of relief washing over her. "Felix, you're okay!"  
Felix smiled at her. "Not really," he said. "I don't think I'll be able to chase down the guy who got me in my current condition."  
"What guy?" Jenna asked as her eyes widened. She propped his body onto a nearby rock so he could sit up. "You mean someone attacked you?"  
Felix nodded. "Man, he was strong…" he said.  
Jenna was getting angry very quickly now. "Where is he? I'll hunt down the bastard and trample him until he apologizes!"  
"Don't be a fool," Felix said with a serious tone. "He would kill you if you tried."  
"What do you mean? You think I can't take him on?" Jenna said.  
"I couldn't lay one finger on him, much less take him on," Felix said, rubbing his left arm. There was a wide cut that had opened up on it, and blood was slowly running out from the wound. "You think you'd be able to do any better?"  
Jenna was about to reply to that, but she thought better of it. "So… what do we do? We can't just let him get away with this."  
"We've got better things to worry about right now," Felix said. "For one, he was headed to Kraden's when he got me. I think he's going after the strange tablet that Piers found today."  
Jenna thought back to earlier in the day, when she had seen Garet and Piers carrying that tablet towards Kraden's house. "You think Kraden might be in any danger?" she asked worriedly.  
The two were interrupted when they heard a rustling noise from a nearby bush. "Who's there?" Jenna said cautiously as she pointed her hand at the bush, ready to attack if needed.  
"Relax, Jenna, it's just me," the voice of Garet said as he stumbled out of the bush. His hair was messed up, and there were a few bruises on him, but other than that he seemed to be in one piece.  
"Garet!" Jenna exclaimed. "Geez, don't scare me like that next time!"  
"Good to see you," Felix said, relieved. "I'm glad you're okay. I lost sight of you after that other figure pulled you into the forest."  
"Yeah, that other person knocked me out while we were fighting," Garet said. "Whoever it was, they were amazingly strong and fast."  
"You didn't have any luck with them either, huh?" Felix asked. "Those two aren't ordinary people, that's for sure."  
"Wait, back up a moment here," Jenna said. "What exactly happened to you two?"  
"Long story short, these two robed punks ambushed us and kicked our asses," Garet said. "Don't know where they've gone to now, though."  
"They went to Kraden's," Felix said again. "I think they're after the tablet."  
Garet's eyes widened. "Damn it! We have to go back there, or else who knows what could happen! Ivan and Piers can't beat those two, not without weapons anyway!"  
"I'll go," Jenna said decisively. "You two are too worn out from battle to be of much use, anyway. Can you stay here and watch my brother, Garet?"  
As much as he hated to, Garet had to agree with Jenna. He was still a bit drowsy from being knocked out, and he didn't have the Levatine with him at the moment. "Fine, I'll stay," he said. "But Jenna… be careful, okay?"  
"Don't go, Jenna," Felix said, reaching up and holding her arm. "You're no match for the two of them. At least call Isaac or Sheba and Mia for help."  
"There's no time. Chances are the two of them have already reached Kraden's place," Jenna said. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," she added reassuringly.  
"Okay… if you insist," Felix agreed reluctantly. "But take this with you," he said, reaching into his robe pocket and pulling out a Smoke Bomb. "You never know when it'll come in handy."  
"Thanks," Jenna said, accepting his gift. "I'm off, take care!" she called as she began down the path to Kraden's, with her Djinni Shine close behind her.  
"You think she'll be okay by herself?" Garet asked as he sat down beside Felix.  
Felix shook his head. "She's definitely going to need some help." He closed his eyes for a moment and mumbled something under his breath. Suddenly, two bright lights emerged and assumed the form of two Venus Djinn. "Echo, go find Isaac and direct him to Kraden's house," he directed one of them. "Iron, you do the same for Sheba and Mia."  
The two Djinn nodded obediently and rushed off down the path to town.  
"It's going to take time for them to get here, time that we don't have," Garet said as he stood up again. "I'm going after her."  
"Are you crazy? You can't even help yourself in a fight right now, much less help Jenna," Felix said. "You'd only be a liability to her in your current state."  
"Maybe…" Garet said. "But I have to at least try and help her. I can't sit here idly when I know that a friend is in danger."  
Felix sighed. "Fine then, go. Good luck, you're going to need it."  
"You going to be okay here by yourself?" Garet asked. "You're still bleeding."  
"I've been through worse. A little cut like this won't stop me," Felix replied.   
"Okay then. Hang tight, we'll be back in a jiffy," Garet said as he turned and began to walk down the path. "Don't go dying on me now, huh?" he added as an afterthought.  
Felix rolled his eyes. "I won't. Now go, there isn't much time to lose."  
"Will do," Garet replied. "See you later!" And with that, he broke into a dash down the path, following the steps that Jenna had taken mere minutes ago.

_Who could these mysterious attackers have been? Nobody that I know is strong enough to fight my brother one-on-one and win. It must be another new enemy, one that we haven't encountered yet. Does that strange tablet have anything to do with it? _

So many questions. But I think I'll be getting my answers soon enough…

Isaac yawned as he sat down onto his bed. "So sleepy…" he groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "But for some reason I just can't fall totally asleep."  
In his mind, the one thing that he remembered was that strange guy that he had run into on his way home. Cloaked in black, with a black hood, almost like the Grim Reaper. The one feature that stood out about that guy was the way his eyes glowed in the blanket of the night.  
"How did that guy know my name?" Isaac thought out loud as he lay down on his bed. "It just doesn't make any sense."  
He lost his train of thought as he heard a light tapping sound coming from his window. "What the hell?" he thought as he climbed out of bed and went to see what was causing the commotion.  
When he opened the curtains that covered his window, Isaac saw that a Venus Djinni was outside, struggling to maintain its balance while it knocked on the window. Isaac quickly opened the window and let the Djinni into his room. "Hey there, little guy. Why aren't you with Felix?" he asked as the Djinni literally fell into the window.  
The Djinni Echo got back on its feet and began to jump around, waving its arms as it did so. It also began to squeal incoherently, as if trying to tell Isaac something. "Whoa, hold on there," Isaac said as he held back a fit of laughter. While Echo wasn't making any sense at the moment, he was certainly very entertaining to watch. "What are you trying to tell me?"  
Echo looked around the room for something to help it get its message across. Then, it ran up onto Isaac's desk, which had a few sheets of paper and a quill pen that he used for writing notes or letters. He grabbed the pen and scribbled down the words "Follow me" on the top sheet of paper.  
"Follow you? But where?" Isaac asked, confused.  
Echo appeared to getting annoyed now. He started jumping up and down again, but this time with more force and energy than before. "Okay, okay, I'll follow you," Isaac said, desperately wanting to calm the Djinni down before his parents noticed. "Just let me get some more appropriate clothes on first."  
As Isaac changed, Echo continued to look around his room. It wasn't much, just a few things scattered here and there. On one side was Isaac's dresser, where he kept all his clothes. Then there was the desk and the bed, and on a wall above the bed was a portrait of him, Garet, Ivan, and Mia that an artist had drawn for them a while back. And finally, there was a neat rack where all of his old battle equipment was placed, as a memory of his great adventure.  
Echo walked over to the rack and inspected it closely. After a while, he jumped onto the rack and pulled off the sword that was placed at the highest spot. The sword crashed to the ground, along with the Djinni.  
Isaac rushed over as he heard the crash. "Hey, don't be messing with that stuff. You could get hurt," he said as he picked Echo off the ground and checked him over for injury.  
Echo pointed down to the sword on the floor. He squealed something to Isaac and kept on pointing towards it. "Huh? You want me to take it with me?" Isaac asked.   
The Venus Djinni nodded.  
"Why would I need a weapon? Exactly where are we going?" Isaac said, now more confused than ever.  
Then, Echo thought of a way to get his message across quickly. His body glowed with a golden aura for a second, and then it turned into a golden light that flew into Isaac's body. The integration was complete.  
Isaac closed his eyes for a second as Echo opened his thoughts to him. "Jenna's in trouble, and so are Kraden and the others!" he thought as he looked through the Djinni's thoughts. "The enemy is… a pair of cloaked figures?"  
The one thing that came to his mind right then was the boy that he had encountered earlier in the night. "It's him. It's got to be him," he thought out loud. "Better hurry to Kraden's, there isn't a moment to spare!"  
Isaac reached down and picked up the Gaia Blade from the floor. "Perhaps I'll be needing this after all," he thought to himself. "I didn't want to do this… but this time it looks like I don't have much of a choice."  
With that, Isaac headed to his open window and jumped out. After a nifty roll to avoid shattering any bones upon landing, he was off to Kraden's, racing under the cover of the black night. 

_ What's this? There's definitely something going on here. I just hope that I'm not too late to help Kraden and the others._

Better keep my guard up, my brother's assailants must have been something special if they could beat up him and Garet without breaking a sweat. But I'll beat them, one way or another. I just know it.

Strange… if I feel so confident, then why do I also feel so scared?

Isaac dashed through the forest, racing past tree after tree as they zoomed past him almost as if they were moving. He had never actually gone down this route to Kraden's house before, but Echo was telling him that it was shorter than the path.  
"Where are Felix and Garet?" Isaac said in a thought-message to his 'borrowed' Djinni. "Are they all right?"  
Echo answered in the affirmative. "Do you think we should check up on them before going off?" Isaac asked.  
Echo answered in the negative this time. "They'll be fine, huh? Are you sure you don't want to go back with Felix now? I'm sure I can find my way from here," Isaac offered.  
Another golden light shone around Isaac's body, then it shot out and assumed the form of Echo again. The Djinni squealed a bit as it came back out of Isaac's body, trying to convey another message.  
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Isaac reassured as he placed his hand on the Djinni's head, gently rubbing its fur. "Just go back and make sure Felix is all right."  
Echo nodded. Then it turned and ran through the forest in another direction, following his master's faint Psynergy traces.  
"Better hurry up a bit," Isaac thought to himself as he took off for Kraden's again. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."  
A few minutes later, Isaac finally found himself at the edge of the forest. "Wow, that was pretty fast," he thought. "Felix must do a lot of exploring around here."  
His thoughts were interrupted as he picked up a trace of sudden Psynergy from nearby. "Something's going down over there, I just hope that I can make it in time!" Isaac ran through the last sets of trees and onto the pathway beyond. After about twenty more seconds of running, he found himself in front of Kraden's house.  
"What the…? Where is everyone?" he said as he looked around. A battle had definitely taken place here, as the doors and outside walls were painted with burns and holes. Parcels of leftover Psynergy were scattered on the ground, almost like fireflies on a dark night.  
"Damn it! I'm too late!" Isaac said angrily as he slammed his fist into one of the battle-scarred walls. "Guys… I'm sorry…"  
"I…Isaac…" a nearby voice called out.  
Isaac turned around. Behind him was Garet, whose beaten body lay on the blood-stained grass around him. "Isaac… you're here…" he groaned as his friend rushed over to help him.  
"Garet!" Isaac cried. "Garet, what happened to you?"  
"They took her…" Garet said feebly. "And the tablet…"  
"Took who?" Isaac said, confused. "And what tablet are you talking about?"  
"Jenna… They took Jenna…" Garet answered.  
Isaac's eyes widened as he felt rage overwhelming his emotions. "That bastard… he's not going to get away with this," he said as his body trembled with anger.  
"Go get them…" Garet said. "They left on foot about ten minutes ago, they wouldn't have been able to go too far."  
Now Isaac was torn between his two options. Either he could go after the two assailants and leave Garet, or he could let them get away and help his best friend. "Damn it! What do I do?" he yelled as he pounded his fist into the grass. Sparkles of Psynergy were now flying out of his body at random, as he was slowly losing control of his power.  
"Isaac!" someone called out from behind him. "Is that you, Isaac?"  
Isaac turned around. "Mia! What are you doing here?" he asked when he saw who it was."  
"Felix sent Iron to my house, he said that there was trouble at Kraden's," Mia explained. "Sheba's looking after him right now."  
Then she looked over Isaac's shoulder and saw Garet. "Oh my goodness! What happened to him?" she cried.  
"It's a long story," Isaac said. "Listen, Mia. Can you do me a favor?"  
"Sure, what do you need?" Mia asked, a bit confused.  
"Watch Garet for me, I'm going after the people who did this," Isaac said, picking up the Gaia Blade again.  
"But… didn't you say that you wouldn't…" Mia began.  
"I don't think I have a choice this time," Isaac replied. "Besides, they took Jenna with them. I have to rescue her, or else who knows what they'll do to her."  
"Get going, there's not much time…" Garet said. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."  
Isaac nodded. "Take it easy, and get well soon. Thanks for your help, Mia. I'll see you later." With that, he ran around the back of the house and began running down the path leading out of the town.  
"Isaac, wait! You didn't…" Mia started again. He didn't hear her though, he was already too far gone.

_What a fun way for a girl to spend the night… Taken hostage by a pair of strange Adepts and being thrown into a delivery wagon. It's almost like the whole Saturos and Menardi thing all over again, except I wasn't tied up when I was following them._

There's more to these two than meets the eye, though. I don't know why, they just seem like they're not telling me the true purpose of their actions.

"How much farther do we have to go?" the boy said impatiently. Sweat was beginning to gather on his long black hair. "It seems like we've been moving for hours."  
"It shouldn't be too long now," the girl that was walking beside him said. "How big could this town possibly be?"  
"Hey! I know you're listening to me!" a voice called out from the inside of the wagon that was being pulled by a horse.  
"Great, she's getting restless again," the boy mumbled. "Pulling a whining wagon back home certainly wasn't part of the plan."  
"When my friends catch up to you, you'll be sorry!" the voice called out.  
"Didn't we already deal with your weak little friends?" the boy answered. "They're no match for us, it's pointless to even fight them."  
"I'll go talk to her," his female companion offered. "Maybe I can calm her down a bit."  
"As long as you don't weigh down the wagon," the boy replied. "I've got enough to tow as it is right now."  
The girl flipped open the curtain on the front of the wagon and hopped in. "Hey, how are you holding up in here?" she asked.  
"Tell me why you've kidnapped me," Jenna replied angrily. "And then explain why you and your friend beat up my brother and my friend."  
The girl didn't really know how to answer. "It's… a long story," she said. "But you have to believe me, we had no intention of hurting anyone in this town."  
"Oh really?" Jenna said scornfully. "So I suppose your friend was forced to beat Garet into a bloody pulp like he did back there?"  
"Hey, he attacked us first," the boy said from outside. Apparently, he had been listening in on the whole conversation. "We didn't start anything, he did."  
"Van, you're not helping," the girl said. "Look, what happened back there was only because we had no other choice. We had to take the tablet no matter what, and your friend wasn't really in a reasoning mood at the time."  
"That still doesn't excuse what you did," Jenna said. In her mind, she was still deeply worried about Garet. She didn't have a chance to see how he was before the boy had grabbed her and tied her up. After that, it wasn't long before she was put into the wagon along with the strange tablet and carted away.   
"Look, what happened back there… was because I lost control for a moment," the boy leading the horse said. "I was only trying to knock him out, I didn't mean to hurt him like that."  
"Really? And why is that? You seemed to know what you were doing perfectly well," Jenna said scornfully.  
"You don't understand the whole situation," the girl said. "Our form of magic is different compared to yours. Sometimes… we can lose control of it. That's why we need to take this tablet."  
"Oh…" Jenna said, trying to take in all that she was saying. "Why is it so important to you anyway?"  
"It's an ancient artifact from our village," the girl replied. "How it ended up in your town, we don't know. But we have to bring it back no matter what the cost. It might be the key to saving our hometown."  
"An artifact from your village? Where is your village?" Jenna asked.  
The girl paused for a second. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you that," she answered after a while. "Let's just say that we have… policies about the secrecy of our village."  
"I see… kind of like Lemuria," Jenna mused.  
The boy up front scoffed. "Believe me, our village is nothing like that hellhole Lemuria," he said.   
"What do you mean? Lemuria seems like a nice enough place to me," Jenna said.  
"Why don't you ask that Lemurian that lives in your town? I'm sure he'll tell you what you need to know," the boy said angrily.  
"You could speak in a kinder tone to her, Van," his friend said as she cast him a look. "I apologize for his rudeness," she said as she turned to Jenna. "It's just that he gets a little… sensitive when it comes to that topic."  
Jenna thought it best not to pry any further, so she let it go. "You still haven't told me why you kidnapped me," she said, remembering where she was.  
"You're the backup plan in case any more of your friends come looking for trouble," the boy said. "They're not going to attack us with you here."  
"Please don't take this the wrong way," his friend said. "We're just going to hold you until we leave town, and then we'll let you go. All we want is to be able to leave peacefully, without any more fighting."  
"If that's the case, then did you really have to tie the ropes so tight?" Jenna asked as she squirmed uncomfortably. "It's really starting to hurt right now."  
"That was only so you wouldn't escape," the boy replied. "You can untie her now, I think we're almost there."  
The girl nodded and began to untie Jenna. "Sorry for the inconvenience. If you knew why we were doing this then you would understand."  
Jenna looked at her for a second. "Strange… It seems like these two aren't really that bad after all," she thought to herself. "Could it be that I've misjudged them?"  
"There," the girl said as she finished untying the last of the cords that bound Jenna. "Okay, you're free to go."  
Jenna opened the back curtain and stepped outside. Her limbs were aching from being tied up for so long, but it was certainly better than riding in that bumpy wagon. "By the way, you haven't told me what your names are," she said.   
"I'm Saffron, it's nice to meet you," the purple-haired girl replied with a kind smile. "And that's Van," she added, pointing to the boy leading the horse. "He acts tough, but he's really a good guy."  
"I'm Jenna," Jenna said. "Nice to meet you, too."  
Van hopped off of the horse that he was riding. "Look, Jenna, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. Give your friend this and he'll be as good as new in no time," he said, pulling out a sealed flask from the inside of the wagon and tossing it to Jenna.  
"Uh, thanks," Jenna said as she caught it. "What does it do exactly?"  
"It heals battle wounds," Van said. "We've got plenty extra in our village, so don't worry about it.  
"Oh, well thanks for the help then," Jenna said.  
"Don't mention it," Van said. "Come on, we should be going now," he said as he went back to his horse.  
"Goodbye," Saffron said. "Maybe we'll meet again someday."  
"Hey! Stop right there!" a voice called loudly from behind them.  
Everyone turned to see who it was. It was Isaac. "Isaac!" Jenna called back when she saw who it was.  
Isaac stopped running once he had reached the wagon. "Jenna! Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" he said with concern as he put her hands on her shoulders.  
"I'm fine," she replied with a slight blush. "Just a bit sore, though."  
Van had come back around to the back again. "Are you another one of her friends?" he asked. "Honestly, where do you all come crawling out of?"  
Isaac turned to face him. "You! I've got a score to settle with you," he said angrily. "You're going to pay for what you did!"  
"Yeah, I'm sure that I am," Van replied. "We're not looking for trouble, we're just trying to leave town. So if you'll excuse us, we'll be on our way now."  
Isaac drew his sword and pointed it at Van's throat. "What's wrong? Didn't you say that we were going to meet again in the near future when we met earlier?" he asked, his voice still filled with rage. "This is what you wanted, wasn't it?"  
Van stopped and turned around once more. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've never seen you before," he said calmly.  
"Don't play dumb with me," Isaac said, with his sword still pointed directly at Van's neck. "Black cloak, about that size and build, with those fiery brown eyes. Who else could it be?"  
Saffron gasped. "Van, you don't think it could have been…" she began.  
Van was frozen on the spot too, with a look of disbelief on his face. "It couldn't be, but then again, who else would it be?"  
Isaac and Jenna were now standing with very confused looks on their faces. "Um, what's going on?" Jenna asked.  
"Another of our people is in this town at this very moment," Saffron said worriedly "And this person may not have the same peaceful intentions as myself and Van."  
"Looking for me?" someone said from behind them.  
Without turning around, Van already knew who it was. "It's him, all right. Leon."

To Be Continued… 


	5. Episode 04: Beast's Fury Unleashed

**_Golden Sun: Last Heaven  
_**Episode 04: Beast's Fury Unleashed

_It was him. I never thought that we would ever see him again, but there he was, standing right behind Van. The two looked almost identical, like a boy and his shadow standing in the moonlight. But even though they looked so alike on the outside, their insides are worlds apart._

It's strange, how two brothers can be almost completely opposite of one another. There was a time when they weren't so different, but that's all in the past now…

"Van, how nice to see you here," the figure behind him said. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"  
"What do you want, Leon?" Van said. "I have nothing to say to you, so why don't you just leave me and Saffron alone?"  
The brown-haired boy laughed. "Honestly, Van, is that any way to greet your own brother?"  
"His brother?" Jenna exclaimed in disbelief. "That's Van's brother?"  
"Now that you mention it, they do kind of look the same," Isaac said, still very confused at the events unfolding before him. He had put away his sword now, removing it from its once threatening position.  
"Yes, that's his brother," Saffron confirmed. "But it's been quite some time since we've last seen him."  
"I'm picking up a bad vibe from this guy," Isaac said. "Just like before…"  
"And look, dear Saffron is with you as well," Leon said, looking over his brother's shoulder. "Are you two still getting along as well as you used to?"  
"Leave her out of this," Van said angrily. "Whatever your problem is, you deal with me, not her. Understand?"  
"Well now, if you're going to be so abrupt about it," his brother replied, sounding disappointed. "Too bad, little brother. We could have actually had some fun."  
Van scoffed. "If my theory proves correct, you're here to kill me," he said. "I would hardly consider that 'fun'."  
"You know me too well, dear brother," Leon said with an eerie chuckle. "But you're not exactly right. Hand over the tablet to me, and I just might let you and your dearest love leave this field alive. Resist, and let's just say that I'll have to employ more… persuasive methods."  
Van considered the two options for a second. "Fine then, we'll do it your way," he said, going into the wagon through the back, where the tablet was hidden.  
"You've made the right choice, Van," Leon said as a big smile formed on his face. "This way, no one gets hurt."  
"You're not exactly right," Van said from inside the wagon.  
"Hmm?" Leon said as his eyebrows furrowed.  
Van stepped outside again, but now he looked different. He had taken off his cloak, revealing his whole figure. He was dressed in only a sleeveless shirt and a pair of work pants, but the thing that stood out most was the giant neck-cleaving knife that he now carried at his side.  
"What is the meaning of this?" Leon said angrily.  
Van assumed a battle stance, with both hands on his mighty sword. "The only person who's getting hurt tonight is you, 'dear brother'. So if you're not too scared to fight me, then bring it on."  
"You've made a big mistake challenging me, Van," Leon said as he laughed evilly. He threw off his own cloak, revealing a more muscular build than his brother's and two swords hanging from his waist. "Did you forget that it was I who taught you everything you know? Your entire repertoire of techniques is like a book open for my reading, and there is nothing you can hide from me, little brother."  
"Don't be so sure about that," Van said. "And just for the record, you're no brother of mine," he spat as an afterthought.  
Isaac drew the Gaia Blade again and stepped beside Van. "You need a hand? This brother of yours looks pretty tough."  
Van was confused for a moment, but then he smiled and shook his head. "I can take him, don't worry. Just do me a favor and take of care of those two, all right?"  
"No problem," Isaac replied. "But do me a favor in return."  
"What is it?" Van asked as he watched his brother draw his blades.  
"Stay alive. I've got some questions that I'd to have answered after this is all over," Isaac said as he put away his sword.  
"I don't know what your questions are, so I can't guarantee you any answers. But don't worry, I'm not ready to die just yet," Van said.  
"Van!" Saffron cried out from behind him.  
Van turned around. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," he called back.  
Saffron wanted desperately to help out her best friend, but she knew that if she tried then she would only get in his way. "Be careful!" she called out.  
"I guess I'll leave you to your business then," Isaac said as he began to walk back towards the others. "Good luck."  
"Well now, any last words before your untimely demise?" Leon said as he began to slowly walk towards Van.  
"Just three," Van replied. "Go to hell."  
Leon charged him with a yell and began to attack. Van parried away a good portion of his brother's strikes with his enormous blade, and he nimbly dodged the rest. "That the best you got?" he said with a smile. "Because if it is, you don't stand a chance against me, much less against the wolf."  
"Oh, don't worry. That was just a little warm-up to see if you've gotten any better since I last saw you," Leon said. "I for one certainly wouldn't expect it to be that easy."  
"Isaac, do you really think that Van can win?" Jenna asked worriedly.  
"I don't know," Isaac said, not taking his eyes off the battle in front of him. "I haven't witnessed either of their true powers yet, so I can't tell which of them is stronger."  
"True power?" Jenna wondered, a bit confused. "Is that what you were talking about earlier, Saffron?"  
Saffron nodded. "The form of magic that we use can be hidden until the time it is needed. Right now, those two are just fighting as regular warriors, but things will get much more intense once either of them starts using magic. But tell me, how do you know about our hidden power?" she asked Isaac.  
Isaac smiled knowingly. "To be honest, I didn't until now. He's not really making an effort to hide it now," he said.  
"Yeah, I feel it too," Jenna said as she closed her eyes and concentrated on finding a Psynergy signal. "It feels like Psynergy… but a bit different. If only Kraden was here right now… he would have a field day."  
That's when Isaac suddenly remembered about the others. "Kraden! What happened to him?" he exclaimed, turning to Jenna.  
"Saffron, did you find an old man inside the house when you took the tablet?" Jenna asked.  
Saffron shook her head. "I'm afraid I didn't. Why?"  
"Because, uh… that house kind of belongs to him," Jenna replied uneasily.   
"Oh!" Saffron said with a hint of insecurity. "You must give him my apologies then, we tried to leave everything as it was, only taking the tablet."  
"As long as he's all right, then it's okay," Isaac said as he breathed a sigh of relief. "That old geezer gets on my nerves sometime, but I don't know what we'd do without him."  
"Yeah…" Jenna agreed. "He must have gone to eat dinner at Piers and Ivan's place or something, since he never did like cooking for himself."  
In front of the trio, the tension was beginning to reach a boiling point again. Van was again ready for battle, and Leon appeared to be sizing him up like a shark stalking its prey. "Well, are you going to attack or what? I don't have all night," Van said, with a hint of cockiness in his voice.  
"Patience, dear brother," Leon replied tersely. "The hunter always waits for the perfect opportunity before he strikes."  
"Keep searching all you want, you're never going to get a clean shot at me," Van said.   
"You really think so?" Leon said with a smile as he stood up straight again. "And what if I do… this!" Right as he uttered that last word, he pointed his right index finger straight at Isaac's group, aiming over his shoulder, around Jenna and pointing straight at Saffron.  
"Saffron!" Van cried as he spun around, realizing who Leon was targeting.  
Jenna's reflexes kicked in the fastest, as she flung herself to her right, bringing Saffron down with her in a heap of arms and legs. The black beam that had been fired out of Leon's finger zoomed harmlessly over their heads, leaving a smoking trail in its wake.  
"You okay?" Jenna asked as she dislodged her tangled limbs. "That was too close."  
Saffron nodded shakily. "Thank you. You saved me," she said gratefully.  
Isaac kneeled down next to Jenna. "Hey, you all right?" he asked. "That was some quick thinking there, Jenna."  
"I'm fine," Jenna said as she dusted herself off a bit. Behind Isaac, however, she saw Leon charging towards Van, who was still looking over in their direction. "Van, look out! Behind you!" she cried.  
Van spun around at the moment Leon arrived in front of him. "Done in by your own compassion, how sad," Leon said as he swung one of his swords at Van, aiming directly for his neck.  
Van turned back around and dove to the ground in a single motion as soon as he saw the attack. His brother's blade missed his neck as he turned, but it cut into his back and drew blood. Van cried out in pain and fell face-first to the ground awkwardly.  
"Van!" Saffron cried as she got up and started running towards him. She was held back by Jenna, though.  
"Don't go! We can't help him now," Jenna said. "We can't lose you too!"  
"Hmm, nice move," Leon said as he retracted his weapon and examined the damage. "Too bad you're only delaying the inevitable." With that, he readied his sword and swung it downwards again.  
"Quake Sphere!" Isaac called out as he quickly created a ball of earthen energy in his palm. "Go!" he shouted as he threw the ball as hard as he could towards Leon's moving sword.   
The sphere connected with its target, stopping Leon's attack and sending the sword flying out of its owner's hand. "What in the…?" Leon said as he turned around. "You!"  
"Let's see if you can take me on!" Isaac said as he drew the Gaia Blade from its sheath and charged towards Leon.   
"Foolish boy, you're going to regret that little show of interference!" Leon yelled as he waved his hands through the air. "Chains of Restraint!"  
As Isaac was charging his enemy, he failed to notice several magical ropes emerging from the ground beneath him, or at least until it was too late. The chains wrapped around his legs first, then the rest of his body, completely immobilizing him. "What the… I can't move!" he exclaimed as he struggled in his mighty bonds.  
"Isaac!" Jenna cried. "Get out of there!"  
"This will teach you to mind your own business!" Leon shouted as he charged Isaac and delivered a hard punch to the stomach while running full-speed. Isaac doubled over instantly, as he felt his innards being crushed by the harsh blow. Then everything went black, and he passed out and fell to the ground.  
"Humph, that was quick," Leon mused as he stood up and dusted himself off. "These two are out of commission, and those two won't pose a problem," he thought to himself as he glanced over at Jenna and Saffron. "I guess I'll be going then," he said as he walked over to Van's wagon.  
"Hey, what are you doing?" Saffron called out as she and Jenna headed back towards the wagon as well.   
Leon turned around. "What does it look like I'm doing?" he said. "This tablet belongs to me now."  
"It's not yours! We found it!" Jenna said.   
"And they fought for it too," Leon replied, motioning over to the two unconscious bodies of Isaac and Van. "Since I'm the only one still standing, I guess I'll be leaving with my battle spoils."  
"Oh no you don't!" Jenna exclaimed as she reached into her pocket, grabbing the Smoke Bomb that Felix had given to her earlier. "Take this!" she cried as she threw the Bomb at him as hard as she could.  
"What the…?" Leon began. He was cut off as the bomb detonated right in his face. Smoke spilled out of the exploded sphere and blanketed the whole area like a thick cloud.  
Jenna was already on the move, however. "Take this!" she cried as she moved right in front of Leon and swung her right fist directly at him.  
Leon was blinded by the smoke around him, but he could still see the arm that was being thrown at him. He nimbly dodged to the left and grabbed Jenna's arm, yanking it roughly and dragging her to the ground. "Tornado!" he called as he raised his free arm into the air, conjuring a miniature cyclone that dissipated the smoke around him.  
"Did you really think you would be able to fool me that easily, little girl?" he said as he pulled Jenna's right arm around her back, pulling it until the strain on her muscle began to hurt.  
"Let me go!" Jenna cried out as she thrashed her left arm wildly, trying to hit him in whatever way she could. "I swear, when I get my hands on you…"  
"Leon, stop this madness right now!" Saffron cried as she came up behind them. "Let her go, then we can talk this out like reasonable people," she pleaded.  
Leon released Jenna's arm and pulled her back to her feet. "There's no need to talk," he said as he pushed her back over to Saffron. "Because I'll be leaving now. Attempt to follow me, and you'll suffer the consequences," he warned. With that, Leon hopped onto the horse that the wagon had been tied to and rode off, taking the mysterious tablet with him.   
"Hey, come back here!" Jenna yelled after him as she watched him go.  
"Jenna, just let it go," Saffron said as she helped her to her feet. "There's nothing we can do now," she added sadly.  
Jenna realized that she was right, though she didn't want to believe it. Then she remembered that Isaac and Van were still there as well. "Isaac! We have to go see if he's all right, and Van too!"  
Saffron turned pale almost immediately. "Oh my goodness, Van… I completely forgot about him!" she said as she ran over to where he lay. Jenna headed towards Isaac, just as he was beginning to stir.  
"Oh man, what a shot," Isaac groaned as he sat up shakily. "I'm going to be feeling that one for awhile."  
"Isaac!" Jenna said as she arrived where he was and kneeled down beside him. "Are you all right?"  
Isaac nodded. "Got a bit careless, that's all," he said. "What about him?" he asked, motioning towards Van. "He got hit pretty hard back there."  
"Van! Van, wake up," Saffron whispered as she held Van's bleeding body in her arms. "You can't die… you can't. I won't let you…" she said as she broke down into tears.  
Suddenly, Isaac felt a sharp jolt through his body, almost as if an enormous surge of Psynergy had just gone through somewhere. "What the… where is all that energy coming from?" he thought to himself as he looked around. "It's all going… towards him," he thought as he turned his attention back to Van.  
"Isaac, hurry up!" Jenna said as she stopped and turned around. "We have to go and help Van!"  
"Something's happening to him," Isaac replied as he stopped. "I don't know why, but I feel a massive energy surge coming from his body."  
Just then, Van began to stir. "Van, you're all right!" Saffron said with a sigh of relief. "I thought I was going to lose you for a moment there."  
Van sat up wordlessly, as if he didn't feel any pain from his still-bleeding back. "Uh, Van? Are you feeling all right?" Saffron said cautiously, as a faint guess of what was happening began to form in her mind.  
Van turned his head to face her, and as she looked into his eyes, she saw not the peaceful boy that was her friend, but instead something much different…  
"Oh no," Saffron gasped as she backed away from him a bit. "Van, please tell me you didn't…"  
Van's had now stood back up again, and he was hunched over slightly almost like an animal. His teeth were now gritted together, and faint snarls could be heard coming from his insides.  
"Saffron! Is he all right?" Jenna asked as she and Isaac arrived where she was.  
Saffron didn't reply, instead she just stood transfixed, with her eyes never leaving Van for a second. "Um, hello? Saffron, are you feeling okay?" Jenna said with a hint of worry.  
"We're all in great danger," Saffron said. "Van's soul is integrating with the wolf as we speak, and when he's finished… we won't be able to stop him."  
"What do you mean, he's integrating?" Isaac asked. "Is this why his energy level is rising so much?"  
Saffron nodded. "There's no time to explain it all. We have to knock him out again before the integration is complete, but without damaging his body any further."  
"Leave it to me," Isaac said as he approached Van's standing figure. But right when he got within striking distance of his neck, Van turned around, with a look of pure rage in his eyes.  
"Get out of there! You can't do anything now!" Saffron cried from behind him. "Move, before he attacks you!"  
Too little, too late. Van leaped forward and tackled Isaac to the ground with inhuman strength. "What the… what's he doing?" Isaac said as his hands held Van's head away from his neck, which appeared to be the target of Van's ferocity.  
"Isaac! Hold on, I'm coming!" Jenna cried as she ran forward and rammed Van with her shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern.  
"It… it's like he's not even human anymore," Isaac said, clearly shaken up by the whole ordeal. "What's happened to him?"  
Van crashed to the ground hard, but he stood right back up and began pacing towards Isaac and Jenna, leaving a trail of dripping blood in his path. If he was still feeling pain from his back, he was certainly not affected by it in any way.  
"Van, stop!" Saffron cried as she moved in front of Isaac and Jenna. "Van, don't you recognize who I am? It's me, Saffron!"  
Van snarled viciously in response. It was clear that he wasn't listening.  
"Van, look at this," Saffron said as she reached into her shirt and pulled out her necklace. "Remember this? You gave it to me, Van. It was your gift to me on my birthday five years ago."  
Van's attention turned the necklace. It sparkled brightly with a golden aura, since Saffron had been keeping it clean since the day that she had received it from him. It was then that the real Van began to stir within the depths of his mind.  
Suddenly, Van grabbed his own head and feel to his knees, as if something was erupting inside his mind. He roared loudly like a real wolf as he tried desperately to purge whatever was causing the pain inside.  
"Do it!" he shouted as he clutched his heart with his right hand. "Do it, before it's too late!" he shouted again.  
Isaac realized what he meant. He rushed forward with his fist clenched and delivered his hardest punch right to Van's gut as he passed by, just as Leon had done to him earlier. "I'm sorry," he said as he withdrew his hand and caught Van's body as it fell to the ground, unconscious once again.  
"Is he all right?" Jenna asked worriedly as she and Saffron came up to him.   
"Yeah, I don't think I got him too hard," Isaac said as he laid Van on the ground stomach-down. "We should get him back into town, but first we need to get this cut closed," he said, examining Van's battle wound. "He's already lost a lot of blood."  
"Wait, I've got it," Jenna said, reaching into her robe and pulling out the flask that Van had given her earlier. "He said this heals battle wounds, right? We can use it to fix him up before the situation gets any worse."  
"But… your friend," Saffron began.  
"He'll be fine," Jenna assured as she pulled the cork off the top of the flask. "Besides, we've got a healer in our village that can fix him up just fine."  
"You're talking about Garet, right?" Isaac said. "I saw him on my way here, Mia's already working on him. He should be a lot better now."  
"Besides, this is more urgent," Jenna said. "Now… how does this treatment work? It looks a bit dangerous to drink," she said a bit sheepishly.  
"Just pour it on a wound and it will heal instantly," Saffron said. "It's quite handy, especially in the middle of a battle."  
Jenna carefully poured the flask's contents onto the large cut on Van's back. As she and Isaac watched, the cut began healing before their very eyes, and moments later, it was gone. "Whoa… that was amazing," Isaac said.   
"Our town apothecaries originally developed it to be a quick method of healing during a war, but ever since the power of the four elements was sealed away, we haven't had any more wars. That's why we have so much of it in our village," Saffron explained.  
"It's a lot better than drinking a disgusting Potion, that's for sure," Jenna mused.  
"His wound has been healed, but it will still take some time for him to regain consciousness," Saffron said. "For now, it's best to let him rest."  
Isaac picked up Van's body and put it onto his back. "Follow us, you can stay with us for the time being," he said.   
Saffron was very surprised by the offer. "Oh! I… we really couldn't," she said.  
"Don't be ridiculous, it's the middle of the night right now, and your wagon just got stolen," Jenna said. "You can stay the night with us, and then we can all decide what to do in the morning."  
"But, we really couldn't impede on such short notice," Saffron protested.  
"We insist," Jenna said as she went around behind her and began pushing her along the path. "Don't we, Isaac?"  
Isaac smiled. "You might as well come with us. Once she sets her mind on something there's no changing it," he said.  
"…well, okay then," Saffron said as she smiled back. "Thank you for your generosity."  
"Don't mention it. That's what friends are for, right?" Jenna said with a bright smile. And with that, the three of them headed back into town, armed with new knowledge and a plan, at least for the time being.

_These people of Vale are a mysterious folk indeed. The strangest thing is, they're not anything like what the Elder described to us. In fact, they're really the complete opposite: gentle, forgiving, and caring, even to complete strangers such as Van and myself._

Maybe the outside world isn't so bad after all, if there are more people like Jenna and her friend inhabiting the villages outside of our own…

"So, we can let Van rest in here for the night, and you can sleep in the other guest room," Jenna said to Saffron as she opened the door to the first guest room.  
"Um, I think I'll just stay here," Saffron said, a bit uneasily. "In case he wakes up and he needs something," she added.  
"Oh, I get it," Sheba said coyly. "I guess we should just leave the two lovebirds alone then, right?"  
Saffron blushed a deep red. "No, you don't understand. It's nothing like that, I assure you," she stammered.  
"Sheba, be nice to our guest," Mia said to Sheba. "I'm sorry, she can get a bit… intrusive at times."  
"Well, excuse me if I was trying to have a little fun," Sheba said with a pout.  
The group was interrupted as Isaac came into the room, still carrying Van's unconscious body on his back. "Geez, it wouldn't have killed one of you to give me a hand now, would it?" he asked as he laid Van down onto the bed in the room.  
"You're the big and strong man around here," Sheba said with her hands on her hips. "Besides, I don't want to get my nails dirty," she added with a hint of sarcasm.  
"Would you like some tea, Isaac?" Mia asked as she flashed Sheba a dirty look. "I can have it ready in a couple of minutes."  
"Sure, that would be nice," Isaac replied with a yawn. "It's been a long night…"  
"That's for sure," Mia said as she left the room with Isaac behind her. "But at least we made some new friends…"  
"Hey, I still don't know your name yet," Sheba said after the two of them had left.  
"Oh, it's Saffron," Saffron said. "And this is Van."  
"I'm Sheba, it's nice to meet you," Sheba said with a smile. "Listen, sorry about those cracks I made at you earlier. I wasn't trying to offend you or anything."  
Saffron smiled back. "Don't worry, I know you weren't."  
Jenna yawned audibly. "You know, I think a cup of tea would do us all some good," she said. "I don't think any of us are going to be sleeping at this point."  
Sheba nodded. "I'll go down and help Mia with it," she said. "You and Saffron can wait with Felix and Garet downstairs. It shouldn't be much longer."  
"Are you going to come down with us, or do you want to stay here?" Jenna asked as she headed for the door as well.  
"I… I think I'll stay here," Saffron replied.  
"Okay, I understand," Jenna said. "Would you like me to bring you a cup of tea?"  
"That sounds good, thanks," Saffron said gratefully.   
"All right then, be back in a jiffy!" Jenna said as she left the room.

_Tonight was supposed to be a simple assignment, something even a C-ranked warrior could accomplish. But not so, this has definitely turned into something much more… _

I guess I should cherish these moments while they last. The outside world is certainly much more than I had originally imagined, and there's so much that I still want to see, but after our failure to secure the tablet tonight… I doubt the Elder will ever let Van or myself out of the village ever again.

"Man, I've only noticed it now, but the inside of your house smells really weird," Garet said as he wrinkled his nose.  
"Maybe because we actually clean it regularly, unlike some people," Sheba said as she rolled her eyes and coughed out the names Ivan and Piers under her breath.  
"Actually, we have a few boxes of perfume that we leave open around the house," Mia said as she came into the room. She was holding a tray containing a large tea kettle and several teacups. "I find its aromatic nature to be quite refreshing."  
"It does seem to calm the senses a bit," Felix said from the side. "I kind of like it."  
"Real smart, man. Sucking up to the pretty girl, huh?" Garet whispered with a smirk.   
"Why Garet, I didn't know you thought of Mia like that!" Felix said loudly, so everybody in the room could hear him.  
"Do you have something to share with us, Garet?" Jenna asked with a smirk of her own, having overheard the two's conversation.  
Garet shook his head and delivered a quick jab to Felix's ribs.   
"Ow! Hey, that still smarts," Felix said as he took a swing of his own as he grabbed his midsection.  
"Shut up, both of you, and drink your tea," Isaac said as he took a sip from his teacup.  
"I'm sorry, did we offend you by talking about your girl behind your back?" Garet said as he turned to Isaac with a wicked grin.  
"Oh, you're asking for it now," Isaac said as he put down his cup and stood up.  
"Please, you two. We have guests right now," Mia said as she put her hand on Isaac's shoulder.  
"Garet, can't you ever act your age for one moment?" Jenna scolded. "Honestly, you're like an eight-year old trapped in an eighteen-year old's body!"  
"Hey, Jenna, didn't you say you were going to bring Saffron a cup of tea?" Sheba asked.  
Jenna slapped her forehead as her memory was refreshed. "Damn it, I forgot…" she said as reached for the tea tray that had one coaster and teacup still on it.  
"Don't worry about it, I'll get it," Garet said as he picked up the two items and stood up. "No need to trouble yourself."  
"Uh, thanks," Jenna said as she stopped in mid-reach. "What's with the sudden surge of helpfulness?" she added.  
"Aren't I always?" Garet replied as he headed for the upper floor.  
"Actually, you aren't," Sheba said once he was out of hearing range. Everyone else shared a laugh at that.

_Van… why won't you wake up? Can't you see that I'm right here, waiting for you to return to me? Maybe you're scared of what else you'll find when you come back to the world of the living._

Tell me, Van, what are you afraid of?

"Um, hey there," Garet said as he knocked on the door of the guest bedroom. "I brought you your cup of tea."  
Saffron turned around and saw the boy that she had encountered earlier that night. "Oh, I… thank you," she said as she took the coaster and teacup from his hands and placed it on the bedside table. Then she sat back down beside the bed, watching the body of her unconscious friend.  
"It was you… wasn't it?" Garet said as he remained in the doorway.  
Saffron nodded, not saying anything.  
Garet sighed as he entered the room and sat down beside her. "You're good. A lot better than me, really," he said as he looked down at the body of the boy who had almost killed him a few hours ago.  
Saffron shook her head. "I sensed your power, you're a lot stronger than you looked tonight. You just let your guard down."  
"Maybe…" Garet trailed off. "But tell me, what exactly happened to him when we were fighting? It's like something possessed him all of a sudden…"  
"It's a long story…" Saffron said. "A really long story."  
"I'm all ears," Garet said. "After all, you look like you could use a little something to pass the time while you're waiting for your boyfriend to wake up."  
"He's not my boyfriend," Saffron replied as she flushed slightly. "We're just childhood friends, like you and Jenna."  
Garet scoffed. "Except for the fact that she hates me," he said.  
"Really?" Saffron asked, surprised. "You never would have known the way she was worrying about you tonight."  
"Huh?" Garet exclaimed as he almost fell off his seat. "You're joking, right? Since when has Jenna ever stopped to worry about me?"  
Saffron smiled at him. "The whole time we had her tied up, she kept bickering at us to go back so she could make sure you were all right," she explained.  
Garet was a bit taken aback. "Talk about your weird surprises…" he said.  
"One more thing, I don't think Van would have beaten you so easily if you didn't block that attack for her," Saffron said. "Are you sure that you don't feel the same way about her that she does about you?"  
"Hey, no one's 'feeling' anything right now," Garet retorted. "Anyone would have done the same for an old friend in danger."  
Saffron laughed. "You two would make a good couple," she said.  
"Most definitely not," Garet replied. "Now then, how about you get around to that story of yours?" he said, quickly changing the subject.  
"There's something different about you right now," Saffron said as she looked him over. "But I guess you merit my attention, for the time being."  
"I'm honored," Garet said with a smile. "By the way, I still don't know your name."  
"Call me Saffron," Saffron said. "And what might your name be?"  
"I'm Garet," Garet replied. "Always a pleasure to meet someone with such beauty," he added.  
"You flatter me, but your words carry the scent of insincerity," Saffron answered.  
"I'm serious, but then again I guess you're not exactly my type," Garet said, backtracking a bit and covering his steps.  
Saffron laughed again. "Do you want to hear the story or not?" she asked.  
"I'm listening now, honest," Garet said as he sat down in his listening pose..  
"I guess I should begin then. The story begins in my hometown, a place called Antiga…" Saffron began.

To Be Continued….   



	6. Episode 05: Legacy of the Past

**_Golden Sun: Last Heaven  
_**Episode 05: Legacy of the Past

Why am I so weak? I mean, what kind of warrior can't even control his own battle spirit? Saffron can control hers, and we've trained together for as long as I can even remember. Hell, we've known each other pretty much since we were born…

I wonder… does the problem lie with the wolf, or with me?

"In my hometown, we rely on a form of magic, much like the ones used here," Saffron began. "But there's a crucial difference in our form of magic, and that is the fact that we harness the power of animals instead of elemental power."  
Garet remembered the story that Kraden had told earlier that day. "So the legends are true then… Antiga really does exist," he said.  
Saffron nodded. "It exists, for the time being. But our village is dying, as it has been for the past few generations."  
"What do you mean?" Garet asked.  
"To fully understand our situation, you have to understand where our power originates from," Saffron said. "You see, the animals that reside in our village are not the same wild animals that roam the wilderness. They…"  
"…had their own special powers," Garet said, finishing her sentence.   
Saffron looked surprised. "That's right," she said. "But tell me, how do you know so much about our village?"  
"To tell the truth, I didn't really until today," Garet replied. "We have a good friend who's a scholar, so when we found that tablet that you were after we brought it to him for examination. When he figured out what those pictures on the tablets were, he told us about the legend of Antiga."  
"I see, so we are still remembered among some people," Saffron said. "Strange, I always thought that we had faded from the memories of the outside world long ago."  
"We still don't know that much, since we haven't found anything that proves your village even exists," Garet said. "Why is that?"  
"That one fateful day, when the power of the four elements were sealed away," Saffron replied. "That was the day we lost most of our companions, as well as our majestic kingdom."  
"The legend just says that when Alchemy was sealed, your beasts lost their powers," Garet said.  
"You're half-right," Saffron replied. "The truth is, our entire city burned down to nothing but ashes that day."  
"What?" Garet exclaimed. "A whole city? How big was it?"  
"You've been to Lemuria before, have you not?" Saffron asked.  
"Yeah, I have. What about it?" Garet replied.  
"It was about that size, maybe a bit bigger," Saffron said. "Now it is nothing more than a simple village, no bigger than what you have here."  
"Whoa…" Garet said in awe. "That must have been some fire.  
Saffron nodded. "Our animal friends helped the townspeople escape, even at the cost of their own lives. We lost pretty much all of our beasts in that dreadful fire."  
"Your story is getting more mysterious by the second," Garet said as he tried to take in all that she was telling him.  
"Maybe I should tell you exactly how Van and I acquired our powers to begin with," Saffron said. "We were only children at the time, but I still remember it clearly…"

_The day that I found the wolf… that was probably the day that changed my destiny. That was the day the elements of earth, fire, wind, and water were sealed off by an outside force, causing the great fire that destroyed our great city, as well as many of our faithful companions. The wolf was different from any other beast though, I could sense it the minute I looked into its eyes._

I guess you could say the wolf found me instead. After all, the Elder does say that it's the beast that chooses the master, and not the other way around.

"Van, what's going on?" Saffron asked as she ran outside. Her small figure was sweating heavily as the heat was intensifying very rapidly.   
"I don't know, it doesn't look good though," Van replied as he looked around at the horrific scene before him. The fire that had started at the walls of the city was now consuming the entire kingdom in one enormous inferno.  
"Everybody, we have to evacuate the city!" the two heard one of the Elder's guards shout. Soldiers were now streaming through the lines of houses, assisting their inhabitants with the unexpected evacuation.  
"I'm not going!" Van heard a voice cry from inside his house.  
"Van, that's your mom!" Saffron began.  
"Quick, you go check on your family," Van said. "I'll go and help my mother."  
Saffron nodded. "Be careful, Van!" she called as she ran back to her own house.  
Van threw open the door to his house. "Mom! Mom, where are you?" he shouted as he searched every room for his mother.  
"Ma'am, we have to get going now!" he heard another voice say from outside, in the backyard. "There's no time left, this whole village could go up in flames any second!"  
Van ran out the back door of his house to the yard. There he saw his mother standing in the middle of the yard, clutching an urn tightly in her arms. A soldier was also there, trying to reason with her to leave it behind.  
"I'm not going," his mother said, not moving an inch. "There's too much to leave behind."  
"Mom, let's go! We have to leave before it's too late!" Van said as he ran up to his mother. "Come on, mom!"  
Van's mother turned and saw her son pulling at her arm. "Van… you've grown up so much," she said. "I'm sorry I won't be able to watch over you anymore."  
"What do you mean?" Van asked.   
His mother turned to the soldier again. "Do this old woman one last favor," she said. "Get my son safely out of the village."  
The soldier, who appeared to be a young man no older than twenty, saw that arguing with her was pointless, so he nodded. "Don't worry ma'am, I'll make sure this boy leaves here alive."  
Van's mother smiled. "I thank you," she said. "Now Van, go with the man. Leave the village while you still can."  
Van shook his head as tears began to well up in his eyes. "Mom, I'm not leaving without you!" he cried.  
"You must," his mother said as she hugged him. "Leon has already grown into a fine young man, and he is helping to save the lives of more villagers just like us right now. He will take care of you from now on."  
"Come on, sport, let's go," the soldier said as he picked Van up and began to leave. "Your mother's made her decision, we can't stop her now."  
"No! Put me down!" Van yelled as he flailed his arms and legs wildly. "I have to go back and save her!"  
"Goodbye, Van…" his mother said as she watched him go. "I love you."  
"I know it's hard… but this is how it was meant to be," the soldier said sadly as he headed for the exit of the village. Van watched helplessly as his mother's image grew smaller and smaller, fading away into the orange flames that had now engulfed the village.  
Van saw the exit of the village ahead of them. He knew that if he was going to go back, he only had one more chance to do it. Grabbing the arm that held him, he slipped out from underneath the soldier's grip. As he landed on the ground below, Van broke into a dash and began running back towards his house. "Mom!" he shouted. "I'm coming for you!"  
"Hey! Hey kid, come back!" the soldier cried as he ran after him. He had made a promise to keep that boy alive, and he would keep it, no matter what.  
Saffron had been waiting at the edge of town for Van, and she had seen him, if only for a second. She had seen him slip away from the soldier that was holding him, and she had seen him run back into the burning town.   
"Van!" she cried. "Hold on, I'm coming to help you!" she said as she ran into the inferno in pursuit of her friend.  
Saffron's mother and father saw their daughter run back inside, but it was too late now. "Oh no, Saffron!" her mother cried. "Saffron, come back!"  
Saffron paid her no heed, as she ran straight into the flaming city following her friend. "I don't know what you're doing, Van, but I'll be there to help," she thought.

_My mother's always been a hard person to figure out. She kept to herself a lot, and she never really told people more than they needed to know. There were probably a whole bunch of secrets that she kept from me, her own son._

I don't know what I was thinking when I ran back into that burning city, or what I was hoping to accomplish. Maybe I was just trying to defy destiny, or maybe I just couldn't accept what destiny was.

Van ran through the still-growing inferno around him as he headed back towards his house. All around him he saw the dead bodies of animals, the very same beasts that had been the townsfolk's best friends. Their corpses were covered with burns, and a lot of them were being turned to ash before his very eyes.  
"I've got to save her, I just have to," Van thought as his eyes began to water from all the smoke. "Hold on, mom… I'm coming."  
But just then, he caught something moving from the corner of his eye from the midst of the flames. Van stopped running as soon as he saw it. "What the… something's still alive there!" he said as he ran to check it out.  
It was a wolf, alive but surrounded by fire on all sides. Its white fur was singed with a few burns, and one of its legs appeared to be injured. It darted back and forth, trying to find an escape route that wasn't there.   
"Hold on!" Van said as he picked up a nearby plank that was lying on the ground and threw it one section of the fire. "Hey, are you all right?" he said as he ran over to the injured wolf.  
The wolf whimpered in response and raised one paw, as if it was giving its thanks to Van. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here," Van said. "Somehow…"  
Suddenly, the wolf let out a loud howl as it began to glow with a silver aura. "What the… hey, what are you doing?" Van said with a very surprised voice.  
The wolf glowed for a few seconds, and then its aura completely enveloped its physical body, taking the shape of a sphere of light. The ball of light zoomed into Van's body, and the integration was complete.  
Van was immediately overcome by the mixture of raw power and emotion that now coursed through his body. He felt like he was no longer in control of it, but it didn't matter because he knew that someone else was.   
The wolf's instincts sensed the growing fire around it, and it knew that escape was the only thing to do. With a flash, Van was running again, this time at almost three times the speed that he was running at before. In about twenty seconds, he had traversed the entire distance that he had run before integrating with the wolf.  
Near the edge of town, Van saw Saffron and the soldier from before. Saffron was unconscious, and the soldier was holding her body in his arms as he began to head for the city borders again.  
"Hey, you made it!" the soldier said with great relief as he saw Van dashing up to him. "Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?"  
Van shook his head. As he saw Saffron's body, he motioned for the soldier to let him hold her.   
"What? But you're not strong enough to hold her and run at the same time," the soldier said. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."  
Van howled with a ferocity that definitely wasn't human. "What the…? What's gotten into him?" the soldier thought as he stared into the eyes of the black-haired boy. "Could it be? Did he integrate with a wild beast?"   
The soldier decided to chance it, so he put Saffron onto Van's back without further argument. Van tightened his grip around her legs, and then he motioned for the soldier to run with him.  
"Okay, let's go," the soldier agreed.   
With that, the two sped out of the burning city, damaged but alive. The soldier cast one last look at his former home before turning around, never again looking behind him.   
Van's speed and strength was superhuman, and it appeared that Saffron wasn't weighing him down at all. The soldier was struggling to keep up with him, but eventually both of them reached the city borders, where the walls were containing the fire from spreading any further outside. The citizens of Antiga were all gathered outside, and they were all quite surprised and relieved at the same time as two more people came dashing out from the inferno within the walls.  
"Oh goodness! Saffron!" a female voice cried as Van finally slowed to a stop, having escaped the danger. "Van, you saved her!"  
Van looked up and saw Saffron's family running towards him. He gently let Saffron off his back, and then he handed her to her father. "Van, you saved her…" her mother said again, quite relieved. "What about you, are you all right?"  
Van was about to nod his head, but it was then that the last of his strength gave out, and he collapsed to the ground unconscious. His body was caught by the soldier who had escaped with them.  
"Ma'am," the soldier said with a smile. "You've got quite an energetic daughter."

_I came to a while later, in the tent that belonged to Saffron's family. They were all quite relieved to see that I was all right, especially Saffron. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy and angry at the same time, it was really quite a sight._

The strange thing was, I didn't remember anything about how I escaped the burning city. The last thing I remember was the wolf's spirit spreading through my veins, altering my whole being forever…

"Van, please stay in bed," Saffron pleaded. "You're not well enough to be up and around yet."  
"Well or not, I've got something I have to do," Van said as he got to his feet and began to walk out of the tent, limping noticeably on his right leg.  
"At least let me help you, then," Saffron said as she walked beside him and slung his right arm around the back of neck and over her shoulder. "I don't think you'll be going too far in your current condition."  
"Thanks," Van said gratefully. "Come on, I want to find that soldier that helped us escape from the city."  
Saffron thought back for a moment. "Oh yeah… I remember the falcon joining with me, then I saw a soldier's face, but then I blacked out…"  
"How is that bird doing, anyway?" Van asked.  
"Pretty good," Saffron replied. "The first-time integration wore it out for a couple of days, but it's doing pretty good now."  
"You think your mom will let you keep him?" Van asked with a smile.  
"If you're allowed to keep that wolf, then I should be allowed to keep the falcon," Saffron said. "Besides, it seems quite attached to me now."  
"Van!" someone called out from behind the pair.  
Van and Saffron turned around to see his brother Leon walking up behind them. "Why are you walking around outside, little brother? You should be resting in the tent."  
"Leon, do you know where I can find that soldier that helped Saffron and I get out of the city the other day?" Van asked. "I still haven't given the guy my thanks yet."  
Leon thought for a moment. "Hmm, I think his tent is number ninety-two," he said. "It's just a short walk in that direction," he added, pointing over towards a line of tents in another direction.  
"Okay, thanks Leon," Van said as he began to walk in that direction. "Come on, let's go find tent ninety-two," he told Saffron.  
Saffron nodded. "Okay," she agreed.  
"You need a hand, little brother? You look like you could use one," Leon said with a smile.  
Van shook his head. "You're probably a busy guy, seeing how you're a captain and all. Besides, I've got Saffron to help me right now."  
"Okay then," Leon said. "But be careful, okay Van? I don't want you to hurt yourself while your body is still healing."  
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Van said as he walked away. "You really think I'm that weak right now?"  
"Perhaps," Leon thought to himself as he watched his brother go. "But what troubles me is whether or not you know for yourself…" 

_The wolf had been injured in the fire, and the Elder had offered to take it under his care, but I refused. Why, I still don't know. I guess that like Saffron, I felt a special attachment to the beast that had been my first integration partner. Whatever the reason was, I just knew that I had to be the one to nurse that wolf back to health._

Ever since the wolf had recovered from its wounds, it's become like another member of the family. Maybe I saw it as a replacement for the brother that I once had, or even for the father that I never had. Maybe it didn't even go as deep as that, for all I know. The one thing that I do know is that the wolf and myself are bonded together, and we are inseparable.

With joined spirits comes great power, but it also brings great danger…

"Here it is," Van said happily. "Tent ninety-two."  
"We made it," Saffron said with a smile.   
"Come on, let's go see if he's inside," Van said as he walked up to the tent and slowly pulled the front curtain open.   
The inside of the tent was certainly nothing special. A bed, a desk, and a couple of chairs, that was pretty much all that could be found inside. A man was lying on the bed right now, with a few bandages here and there but generally looking to be in good health. "Um… excuse me," Van said from the entrance of the tent.  
The man looked up from his bed, and he smiled warmly as he saw who it was. "Well, if it ain't my two old friends," he said. "Come on in, there's plenty of room in here for you."  
Van opened the rest of the curtain and stepped into the tent slowly, with Saffron behind him. "Make yourselves at home, though I know that's not too much right now," the soldier said as he sat up. "So what brings you two down here?" he asked.  
"We just wanted to see how you were doing," Saffron said. "You risked your own lives to save us from that fire, so it's only proper that we come to visit you."  
The soldier laughed out loud. "Just doing my job, little lady. And keeping a promise as well," he added, flashing a look towards Van.  
"Hey, listen… I'm sorry that I caused you so much trouble by running back into the fire like that," Van said. "If it weren't for me, you probably wouldn't need those bandages right now."  
The soldier gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure you had your reasons," he said. "Besides, you would never have rescued that injured wolf if you hadn't gone back in."  
"Hey, you know what? We still don't know your name, even after all you've done for us," Saffron said.  
"You can call me Legion," the soldier replied.  
"That's a strange name…" Van mused. "Did your parents really name you that?"  
Legion nodded. "The day I was born, my destiny had already been decided for me. My parents knew that I was going to be a soldier, so they named me Legion, for we are many."  
"That's pretty neat," Saffron said. "By the way, I'm Saffron. It's nice to meet you."  
"And I'm…" Van began.  
"The commander's kid brother," Legion finished. "Yeah, it wasn't until he paid me a visit himself before I figured out who you were."  
"Leon, I mean… my brother came to see you?" Van asked.  
Legion nodded. "I was just as surprised as you were. He just dropped by to say thanks for watching out for his little brother, which would be you."  
Van breathed a sigh of relief. Whenever Leon had to go see a lower-ranked soldier personally, it normally meant that some sort of disciplinary action was about to be taken for a previous misdemeanor. He was rarely known to visit soldiers out of good will.  
"You should feel privileged, Van," Legion continued. "You know, you could be a captain one day, just like your brother."  
"I… I don't want to be a captain, or have anything to do with that sort of thing," Van said as he turned away. "I never have, and I never will."  
Legion smiled again. "So you don't, do you? I could kind of tell, you're much too gentle to be a good officer, anyway."  
Van didn't respond. He was still imagining what would happen to him if he was ever forced to join the Elder's military, just as Leon was. "It doesn't matter what I'm like," he said finally. "I'll be forced to join, just like my brother."  
"Van…" Saffron began as she put a hand on his shoulder.  
"You know… you don't have to do something that you don't want to do," Legion said as he opened the back curtain of the tent to let in some sunlight. "Destiny can be changed, but only if you are the one who decides to change it."  
Van looked up at him. "What are you saying?" he asked.  
"Kid, don't make the same mistake that I did," Legion said. "All my life, I've let other people push me around and dictate what I am. That's how I ended up like this, a soldier sleeping alone in a tent recovering from battle wounds."  
"But Legion… you can still change your destiny, can't you?" Saffron asked.  
Legion shook his head. "I can't, not anymore. My life isn't even in my own hands now. If the Elder gives orders, we soldiers are expected to obey, even if it means death."  
He faced both of them again. "You're both still young, Van and Saffron. You have your whole lives ahead of you. Don't let it all go to waste."  
Van and Saffron both nodded. "Legion… thank you," Saffron said as she began to cry.  
"Hey there, don't cry, little lady," Legion said as he wiped away her tears with his bandaged hand. "You have to keep a strong appearance, especially in front of your boyfriend," he added with a grin.  
"He's not my boyfriend!" Saffron said as she took a playful swing at him.  
"Hey, Legion…" Van began.  
"Yeah? What is it?" Legion said.  
"We can still… you know, see you and hang out here, right? Or at least until you have to leave on another mission," Van said.  
Legion smiled once again. "You two are welcome here anytime. I could use the company anyway," he said.  
Van smiled back. "Thanks. We'll come to visit again soon," he said.  
"Sure, just watch that leg of yours. It doesn't look like it's completely healthy yet," Legion said, motioning towards Van's right leg.  
"I will," Van replied. "Come on, Saffron. Let's get going before your parents start wondering where we are."  
Saffron nodded. "See you later, Legion!" she said as she left the tent.  
"Hey, Van," Legion called just as Van was leaving as well.  
"Yeah?" Van said as he stopped and turned around.  
"I'm sorry, about your mother…" Legion said. "I know it's hard now, but time will heal the pain."  
"It's okay," Van said as he turned back around. "This is what she wanted, and I know that she's in a better place now."  
Legion nodded. "That's the spirit. Keep your head high, always. Don't forget that."  
"I won't," Van said as he smiled once more. "See you soon, Legion," he said as he left the tent to follow Saffron.  
"Follow your dreams, Van," Legion thought to himself as he laid back down on his bed. "You can be anything that you want, as long as you believe that you can." 

_From that day forward, Legion became one of my best friends, as well as my mentor. He taught me many battle techniques while his body was still recovering, and he also explained the entire integration process to me, though he forbid both me and Saffron from doing so, even though both of us already had our own beasts to bond with. He was always kind to us though,, almost as if we were his own little brother and sister. _

I found out later that his family had passed away a long time ago, when he was only just a boy like us. That was during the Great Darkness, a time when Saffron and I didn't even exist yet. I've heard only legends about it, since the historians have removed all information of that time period from the town archives.

I questioned Legion about it one day, but his only answer was that some things are better left untold.

"Very good, Van," Legion said as he stood up smiling.  
"Yeah, that was awesome!" Saffron beamed as she clapped.  
Van sat down on the ground, catching his breath. "Finally… I've got it down to thirty seconds," he said in between breaths.   
"Your skills have really improved over this past month," Legion said as he handed Van a bottle of water. "Why, I still remember the first time you tried the target exercise. How long did it take you to hit them all?"  
Van took the water and drank. "Don't remind me," he said. "But now I've got it."  
Legion sat down beside him. "Hey Saffron, come here for a moment," he said as he motioned towards her. "I've got something that I have to tell you two."  
Saffron ran over and sat down beside Van. "What is it?" she asked curiously.  
"I don't think I'll be able to train you two for a while," Legion said as he looked towards the sky. "It's been nice not having to work for the past few months, but duty calls once again."  
"What? You're leaving for war?" Van asked as he put down the bottle that he was holding.  
Legion shook his head and laughed. "No, nothing that serious, kid. I have to go help rebuild the town now," he said.   
"But, if you're not leaving, then we can still come to see you, can't we?" Saffron asked.  
Legion shook his head again. "I'd rather you don't. It'll look bad for me if the commander's around."  
"I can talk to Leon," Van offered. "Then maybe you can get switched off the job or something," he said hopefully.  
"No, don't do that," Legion said. "I'm a soldier. This is part of my job, and it's my duty to complete it to the best of my ability."  
"But, Legion… we need you," Saffron said as she moved over beside him and clung onto his arm tightly.  
"You two make it sound like I really am going to war or something," Legion said as he put his arms around his two apprentices. "Don't worry. In a couple of months this will all be done with, and things will go back to the way they are now."  
"Be right back… I've got something for you guys," he added as he stood up and went into his wooden hut.  
He came back outside with a long neck-cleaving knife, encased in a metal holder. "This, my friend, is for you," Legion said as he handed the sword to Van.  
"But, why?" Van asked incredulously as he held the enormous blade with shaking hands.  
"Times of peace are upon us now, I've got no use for it anymore," Legion replied. "You can train with it, as long as you promise to be careful. It'll be a lot harder to use compared with the sticks that you've been using up until now."  
"And this, Saffron, is for you," he said as he produced a wooden flute from his other hand. It had been carved with the utmost precision, and its appearance was certainly no indication of its age.  
"Oh my, it's beautiful!" Saffron said as she took the flute and examined. it. "Thank you, Legion!"  
"My sister used to play that all the time when I was a child like you," Legion said with a smile. "Hopefully, it'll bring the same joy to you that it did for me."   
The sun was beginning to set, and the light that had covered the ground earlier was slowly fading into the darkness. "It's getting late. You two should go home before your mother comes looking for you like last time," Legion said.  
"Legion… thanks for everything," Van said as he stood up and faced his mentor. "Be careful out there, and come back soon."  
Legion nodded. "You have my word," he said. "Keep training though, you hear? I expect both of you to be a lot stronger when I get back."  
Van and Saffron both nodded. "You can count on that!" Saffron said.  
Legion smiled, one last time. "I'll hold you to it. Now go on, get out of here."  
"Come on, Saffron. Let's go," Van said as he turned and began to walk back towards Saffron's house.  
Saffron nodded. "Goodbye, Legion. Thanks for all your help," she said.  
"You're a good girl, Saffron," Legion said. "Do me a favor, and watch out for Van, okay? You'll have to stop him in case he's tempted to try another integration."  
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him!" Saffron said.  
"Good. Now go on, you don't want to keep him waiting now, do you?" Legion said.  
Saffron turned and began to walk away. "Bye! Don't forget us!" she said as she waved and cast a final look at her dear friend before moving out of sight.

_Legion had said that he would come back… but he never did. An explosion in the construction zone one day killed twelve workers, and Legion was one of them. Leon was the one who brought the grave news to me, and I didn't take it too well at first._

Well, maybe that's a bit of an understatement. I pretty much lost all control over my emotions that day. In my rage, I once again integrated with the white wolf that had been my first partner. With anger as my guide and raw animal instincts as my power, I went on an all-out rampage through our village, destroying houses and even killing five people who had tried to stop me. Only when Saffron integrated with her falcon was she able to defeat me in battle, and calm the anger that had plunged my heart into darkness.

Since that day, the Elder had forbidden me to integrate with the wolf, as it had been deemed a danger to the people of the village. Leon pleaded with him to spare its life, and so the wolf was allowed to live. However, the Elder had to seal away its powers within a special box, which was then locked away in the village temple, never again to be revealed to the world. Only then was the wolf allowed to stay with me as a family pet.

What the Elder didn't know, however, was that the limits of the wolf's powers extended far beyond that of any normal beast. Sealing away its physical powers took away a sizable chunk of its strength, but its spiritual power was a whole different story…

"And that's pretty what happened," Saffron said. "After the new town was finally completed, we were able to slowly regain what remained of our past lifestyles, and that's how we've been going… at least until now."  
"Wow…" Garet said, speaking for the first time in almost fifteen minutes. "I never would have imagined that your town had so much history behind it."  
"Our past is filled with mysteries, as is our future," Saffron said as she looked outside through the window in the room. The full moon was still shining brightly in the night sky, a single light among the fields of darkness.  
"So… what do you plan to do now?" Garet asked.  
Saffron sighed sadly. "When he comes to, I guess we'll be going back to our town," she said. "We still have to report our failure to the Elder."  
"But wait a minute, Isaac told me that the guy who had stolen the tablet earlier was named Leon," Garet said. "Was that the same guy from your story?"  
Saffron nodded. "That's the one," she replied. "Van's brother."  
"What happened to him? He sounded like a good guy," Garet said curiously.  
Saffron sighed again. "He was, at one point. After Van's mother died in the fire, he took it upon himself to raise his little brother to the best of his ability. But after the day Van integrated with the wolf again… he's just never been the same."  
"Don't see why that would be," Garet said. "He seems like he had a really good life going, being a high-ranking official in the armed force and all."  
"The taste of power is sweet to some people, to the becoming irresistible after awhile," Saffron answered. "Leon couldn't bear the fact that his little brother could possess more power than himself, so one day he tried to unleash the wolf's sealed powers for himself. He was caught in the process, and from that day forward he was exiled from the town by the Elder."  
"Whoa… never would have pegged the guy for that," Garet said.  
"Neither would have I," another voice said from beside the two. Saffron and Garet spun around out of surprise.   
It was Van. He was awake once again, sitting quietly on the edge of the bed.

To Be Continued… 


End file.
